Obsessive Fangirl
by Mowo64
Summary: Luigi, Kamek, Fawful, Dimentio, and Mr. L are dragged on a grand adventure to the Underwhere and back by their worst nightmare-a Fangirl. With Game-Overs, Curses, Fights, Chaos, Insanity, and Hilarity, these poor fandoms won't know what hit them!
1. Prolouge

_Many, many years ago, the famous Mario Brothers were whisked away from their home in Brooklyn to the Mushroom Kingdom to save Princess Peach Toadstool from a horrible fate…_

Livi wandered aimlessly around in the grassy fields, the light breeze ruffling her short, brown hair. She hummed to herself as she surveyed the few trees, some already dropping their leaves in preparation for autumn.

_They had been summoned by the greater powers of this world, those which are in charge of the delicate balances hanging in the realm of the mortals in the Marioverse-mainly being the Star __Spirits, Queen Jaydes of the Underwhere, and King Grambi of the Overthere._

She had come out here to sketch, but the day being so warm and sunny, and the field so beautiful and peaceful, the young artist had quickly lost interest, more concerned with simply surveying the scene around her.

_This was not the first time a Real-Worlder had been called upon for a great task in this world, and it would not be the last._

Livi suddenly screamed as the ground shifted and shot out from under her, throwing her forwards so she landed face-first in the grass.

_There was a task that needed accomplishing, and required a Real-Worlder as a key ingredient to its success. And, for whatever reason, this simple girl was chosen._

Livi pushed herself up off the ground, shaking her head in an attempt to clear it. "Ow… what the heck was that?" Turning slowly around to where she had been standing not a minute before, Livi saw something amazing…

_Now, granted, she had not been chosen completely at random. This girl was a Fangirl of the Marioverse, and a rather obsessive one at that. She knew her way around its inhabitants, locations, and creatures of all sorts._

"A… a warp pipe?" Livi wondered aloud. There was no mistaking it-a bright green warp pipe had sprung right out of the ground, the dirt cracking into mounds of rubble around it. Livi felt a smile spread across her face as she eagerly, and a bit clumsily, pushed herself up and stumbled around the pipe, examining it from every angle. It truly was a warp pipe, just like the ones she had seen in her Super Mario games.

_And, given the aspects of the Marioverse that particularly caught this girl's attention, only she was capable of accomplishing this task in the manner necessary, and more than likely the only one that would, given the opportunity. She would need help-lots of it-which she could easily obtain should she make all the right friends in all the right places._

"No way…" Livi whispered to herself, placing her hands on the top of the pipe and hoisting herself up to peer inside. "This is so cool! It's an actual warp pipe! Awesome!" Livi sat down on the rim, swinging her legs over to dangle inside, but still keeping a firm grip on the edge for fear of falling in. The inside of the pipe was simply black nothingness, leading to whichever realm in the Mario World had sent it.

_It would be a difficult task to accomplish, with all sorts of trouble, confusion, danger, and chaos along the way. But, she was a determined young girl, and was defiantly up to the challenge. However, she was easily frightened, and wasn't usually one to go looking for trouble._

Suddenly, Livi felt a slight shift in the breeze. It seemed to be pushing downwards a bit, which was quite out of the ordinary. Actually, Livi soon realized with a gasp of surprise, the change in breeze was coming from inside the pipe, more like suction than anything.

_Then again, she wouldn't need to go looking for trouble, if trouble came and found her…_

The winds picked up speed, knocking Livi off-balance. She tried to hold on to the sides of the pipe, but the current was too strong, and before she knew what was happening, with one final scream, Livi was sucked head-over-heels into the pipe, tumbling down the dark passageways as it pulled her along.

_And so, as she was whisked away to the Marioverse, the young fangirl's journey began. A journey she would treasure forever, and a journey those who kept close company with her would not soon forget. She was soon to be a hero to some, an enemy to others, yet somehow, a dear friend to all._

The end of the pipe that had burst through the ground suddenly sucked right back in, the broken rubble instantly healing over as though the pipe had never been present at all. And just like that, all that was left of Livi was the small messenger bag she had dropped, her sketchbook-full of her characters and fandoms, and her small case of her favorite Mario games.

_As all the pieces were set into place, with the beginning of Livi's journey and the others preparing for her arrival, the story was set into motion-and one fangirl's dream and each and every one of her fandoms' nightmare was about to unfold before their very eyes…_

Luigi bounded up the castle steps, closely following his brother, both of them frantic and worried. They had received a call from one of the guard Toads, claiming that they had discovered an invader of some sort, and wanted them to come investigate. Having few, if any, details, Mario and Luigi had no choice but to rush up to Peach's Castle and investigate.

The doors were opened by the Toads on duty before the brothers reached the top step, the two simply rushing past with only a curt nod in thanks to them. They stopped briefly, Mario asking a Toadette where the Princess was (knowing she would want to be at the center of the action, as always), and they were quickly off in that direction.

Mario and Luigi found themselves at the door to a guest bedroom on the second floor, knocked softly, and dashed inside. The room had one bed in the center, with a pink canopy draped behind it. Medic-Toads were gathered around the bed, whispering amongst themselves, and examining the figure lying the bed-a young human girl, with short brunette hair, bright green eyes, and a very tall, scrawny figure. The girl was playing a silver DS that Peach had brought in for her, _tap tap tapping_ away on the screen with her stylus and looking intensely focused.

Toadsworth walked over and greeted the brothers, then showed them over to where the Princess was seated on the bed beside the girl, talking softly to her. She stood up to greet the brothers, giving Mario a light peck on the cheek, then introducing them to the girl. "Mario, Luigi, this is Livi… some of my Toads found her out in the castle gardens-they claim she fell out of a warp pipe."

Livi looked up briefly from the game to wave ecstatically to them. She squealed with delight upon getting a better view of her visitors. "Oh my god! It's the Mario Brothers!"

The brothers smiled at the girl, then turned back to Peach. "Luigi…" Peach said sweetly. "Would you be a dear and keep Livi distracted? I need to talk to Mario about this."

Luigi sighed, but tried not to look too disappointed. "Ah… sure, Peach…" He watched the couple walk over to the table on the other side of the room, then sighed deeply, walking over to sit next to the girl. "Hey there…" he said.

Livi smiled up at him again. "Hey, Weegee!"

He looked over her shoulder at the game she was playing. "Mario Party DS, right?"

Livi nodded eagerly. "Yup! It's amazing! The graphics are totally crap-tastic, but ohmigosh it's so much fun!"

"Really?" Luigi laughed to himself. She was a funny little girl, for sure. "You like Mario Parties?"

"Love 'em!" She said. As soon as Livi finished up her Minigame, she turned the screen so Luigi could see. "Isn't this great? It's _Kamek's Library_! How cool is that? I swear, I bought this game back home for the sole purpose of playing this course."

Luigi got an uneasy knot in the pit of his stomach. "Oh… you, uh… really like Kamek, huh?"  
"Heck yeah! He's adorable! And he's so snarky and funny… like in Partners in Time! When you guys went to Yoshi Island, and younger Kamek had to run around and steal cookies for Baby Bowser! Hilarious! These games are so great! I'm totally obsessed! Do I sound obsessed? 'Cause I think I'm seriously starting to…" Livi ranted.

Luigi laughed again, relaxing ever so slightly. "Wow… you really know your Mario…"

"I know my Luigi better!" She chirped, scrubbing the dusty frame on her screen madly and coins bounced all around her.

"What?" Luigi asked, suddenly confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're my favorite…" Livi blushed slightly, smiling at the green-clad hero.

"Uh… r-really?" Luigi felt a bit of blush creeping into his cheeks as well. "You like… me best?"

"Oh, totally! You're way smarter, you can jump way higher, and you're a little fraidy-catish sometimes, but that just adds to the cuteness!" Livi reached down to the leg Luigi had up on the bed and yanked the cuff of his overalls up a bit, exposing the red-and-white striped socks he was wearing. "Plus, you have amazing socks…" she added playfully.

Luigi went scarlet as Livi made clear how much she knew about him. "That's really sweet, Livi… I didn't… I had no idea you, uh…"

"Had such great taste?" Livi asked sweetly, giggling to herself. She leaned over, laying her head on Luigi's shoulder, making him blush harder. "You're just adorable… I'm a sucker for cute characters, no matter what…"

"Really? Like how?"

"Like Dimentio."

Luigi cringed fearfully at the name of that psychotic jester. When was the last time anyone had brought that name up?

"Di… Dimen… Dimentio?"

"Yeah… Of course, he's like, scary as heck, and really annoying when you gotta fight him over and over and over and over… but, jeez, with that adorable outfit, and that devious little smile…" Livi squealed again. "He's just so cute-I couldn't help it. Before I hit Castle Bleck, the little sneak was already under my skin!"

Luigi gulped nervously, trying to suppress a shudder. "Oh, right… What, um… what other characters from the games do you like?" He asked, trying desperately to change the subject from Dimentio.

"Well, let's see…" Livi sighed deeply, staring off into space, and obviously preparing for a very long rant. "There's you, of course, and Kamek, and Dimentio… then, besides that, there's Fawful and Mr. L… and you guys are like, my top five. Then there's Cackletta, Count Bleck, Mimi, Nastasia, O'Chunks, Princess Daisy, Baby Bowser, Ludwig Von Koopa, Lemmy and Iggy Koopa-they're the twins right? OK, then I really like Larry Koopa, too, and-oh, duh-King Bowser is just plain awesome, and I guess Prince Peasley was pretty funny-totally gay-but really funny, I like King Boo and the rest of the Boos in Luigi's Mansion, and Merlee and Merluvlee, and-"

"Man, you weren't kidding…" Luigi interrupted, laughing a bit. "You really are obsessed, huh?"

"Oh, yeah, totally! I love this crazy place! It's great!" Livi suddenly stopped talking as a very timid-looking Toad walked over and shyly offered her a small, silver can with a mushroom painted on it. Livi smiled sweetly, took the can, and patted the Toad on the top of his cap. He blushed, bowed slightly, then scampered off.

"Oh, they're so cute…" Livi sighed. She then started to look over the item she had been given. "What's this?"

"It's a 'Shroom Shake…" Luigi said, taking it from her to pop the top off.

"Oh! Like in Super Paper Mario? I love that game!"

Luigi laughed, handing her the open drink. "I've heard… here, drink up."

Livi hesitantly took the drink, tried to peer into the tiny opening to catch a glimpse of the liquid inside, then gave up, gulping it down. Luigi noticed a few bruises on her arms and forehead vanish into thin air. Livi sighed in satisfaction, then handed the can back to Luigi. He simply tossed it across the room into a wastebasket.

Livi lay back into the pillows on the bed, going back to her game. Luigi lay down next to her, looking over her shoulder again. "So, Livi… how did you get here?"

Livi shrugged, not looking up from the battle game. "I dunno… One minute I was walking in the fields, then the next, there's a big pipe stickin' out of the ground… before I knew what was happening, I wound up here-Oh, look at Kamek! He's so cute when he's trying to kill me!"

"So… A pipe just… popped out of the ground?" Luigi asked.

"Yeah, nearly killed me, too… it came up right where I was standing…"

"Ah, I see…" Luigi mused. "Well, luckily, it shouldn't be too hard to get you home-we'll just have to find the pipe you came _out_ of, and once you jump down it, _your_ pipe should return on earth."

"What?" Livi asked, shocked into finally looking up. "But, I don't wanna go back home!"

"Huh?" Luigi was stunned.

Livi dropped Peach's DS, forgetting the game entirely, and threw her arms around Luigi's shoulders, burying her face in his shirt. "I don't wanna go home! I want to stay here-with all of you guys! I wanna go on crazy adventures, too! And meet crazies, and beat up baddies, and kick friggin butt, just like the Mario Bros.!"

Luigi put his arms around her, attempting to comfort her. "Shhh… Livi, it's okay… No one said you had to go home _now_…"

Livi sniffled a bit, looking up at Luigi. She had tears welling up in her eyes. "Wh… what?"

"Well, you don't have to go home _right_ now, I guess…" Luigi said. "So, maybe… you could stay here at the castle? Just for a while?"

"Really?" Livi was instantly elated. "That would be awesome!"

"I don't think it should be much of a problem…" Luigi said. "Time passes a lot quicker in this world than yours… Any time spent here would be doubled compared to time in your world.…"

Livi shrugged. "Well, I'm always slippin' off somewhere, anyway… I'm a dimensional traveler, ya know…" She said proudly, gesturing to herself with a bit of arrogance.

"Really?" Luigi said, his thoughts returning to Dimentio. "Is that so?"

"Yup!" Livi chirped. Her face fell a bit, though, as she continued sheepishly. "Well… I can't really do much… I'm an Artist, so the worlds I can go to are limited to the ones I've created… I really don't know how I got here…"

"Well, then…" Luigi smiled at her. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you like… and once you go home, we'll get some mechanics to keep the pipe you came though open, so you can come and go as you please."

"Alright! That sounds awesome!" Livi screamed, hugging Luigi tight.

_And so, just like that, Livi was accepted into the Mario Bros. lives. The room she currently stayed in was quickly re-decorated to her liking-with a large TV, and all sorts of gaming platform and Livi's favorite games from Real World. Livi continued returning every few months to stay for a while, then she would disappear yet again.  
_

_This continued for quite a while, until Livi's fantastic journey began to pick up pace. Almost a whole year later, on Livi's 15th birthday, she returned to celebrate it with her new friends.  
_

_This is where her story begins…_


	2. Here we go

The Princesses Peach and Daisy walked down the corridors of Peach's Castle, talking quietly between the two of them, watching the clouds roll by the windows. It was a very peaceful day. Peach had already sent most of the Toads on duty out to play and enjoy the sunshine, and those who had stayed were also aimlessly wandering the castle, gossiping amongst themselves.

The two Princesses found themselves on the second floor, after a tip from one such Toad that their guest had already arrived, and Mario and Luigi were upstairs already in her room. Peach approached the door to the Guest Bedroom they kept Livi's things in, and the Princess knocked very softly on it.

They waited a moment, then Daisy irritably pushed her out of the way, raising a fist and giving three hard, firm slams on the door before screaming, "Livi!! Let us in!! We know you're in there!!"

"Daisy!" Peach gasped. "That's not very polite!"

"Oh, please, like you'll get that idiot to open up any other way…" Daisy said, waving the pink princess off.

Sure enough, the two were interrupted by a clicking sound as the door was unlocked, swinging open to reveal Mario. He stepped aside, letting the girls inside, then shut the door back behind them.

"Uh-uh!" Livi screamed from the floor. "Don't be lettin' them stuck-up Princesses in my room!"

Peach sat down on the bed behind her. She cleared her throat to draw attention to herself. Livi leaned her head back from where she was laying in Luigi's lap on a mound of pillows, wearing his hat, and smiled stupidly up at the Princess. "Oh… hello, Peach… you look lovely today…"

"Oh, nononononono…" Daisy said, walking around the bed to glare at Livi. "Off my boyfriend!"

Livi ignored her, simply waving her hand towards the side. "Get out of my way! We're in the middle of a game!"

Mario, Luigi, and Livi each held a Wiimote controller, and the large TV mounted at the front of the room showed a paused game of MarioKart—final lap, final race.

"No!" Daisy said, stomping her foot. She pointed to a beanbag chair adjacent to Luigi's seat. "Get off of my boyfriend!"

Livi poked her tongue out. "Why don't you make me?" Needless to say, the first time Luigi had introduced Daisy to Livi, the Sarasaland Princess had quickly been marked off of the "favorite characters" list.

Daisy reached down and grabbed Livi's arm, the fangirl instantly shrieking as loud as she could. Luigi grabbed Daisy's hand, motioning for her to quit it as Livi kept screaming. Daisy growled, throwing Livi's arm back down, and stomping over to sit in the beanbag chair herself. Livi stopped screaming, sticking her tongue out again, then settling back into Luigi's lap. She hit a button on her Wiimote and the three continued with their race.

Mario laid down on the bed beside Peach again, the Princess tapping the top of his hat to get his attention. "Have you told her yet?" She asked sweetly in a hushed voice.

Mario shook his head "no", not taking his eyes off the screen.

Peach leaned in and whispered in his ear. "I just got the letter from Bowser… he gave us the all-clear…"

Mario smiled up at Peach as the game ended. Livi, meanwhile, took a split second to realize that she had won the game, jumping up and screaming, throwing her fists in the air in a celebratory fashion. Mario tapped his brother on the shoulder, catching his attention, and gave him the signal. Luigi nodded, smiling as Livi plopped back down in his lap. "Alright, let's go again!"

As Livi started picking out her next selection of characters, vehicles, and courses, Luigi started to deliver the good news. "Hey, Livi… we forgot to tell you—we've got a little birthday surprise for you…"

"I like surprises!" Livi screamed ecstatically, not looking away from the screen.

Luigi paused a moment before going on. "Well… We've been talking with Bowser—"

"Omigosh I love him! Bowser is the awesomness!!" Livi interrupted. Luigi gave her a look. "Sorry… go on…"

"So… we've been talking with King Bowser—_without _him trying to kill us…" Luigi answered Livi's question before she could interrupt him again to ask why she had missed the fight. The fangirl simply smiled up at him, then went back to playing, allowing him to continue. "And, after much persuasion and debates, Bowser has agreed to let you come spend the day in Bowser Castle!"

Livi was up on her feet in an instant, whipping around to face Luigi. Her hands were over her mouth to keep herself from screaming, and her eyes were wide with disbelief. "Nu-uh…"

"Yup." Luigi simply replied, reclining back into the pillows.

Peach held up a folded piece of parchment, waving it back and forth. "We just received this letter from him… we'll be going tomorrow on your birthday—I'll take you up there on my plane, and we can all go with you!"

"Nu-uh!" Livi said again, throwing her hands down, showing her ecstatic smile.

"Yeah, that's right…" Daisy sneered, glaring up at Livi. "Luigi's precious little angel gets _everything _she wants…"

"Well, at least we know who his _favorite _is…" Livi sneered back.

Daisy raised a fist, growling under her breath, but Luigi put a gentle hand on her shoulder to stop her. Daisy crossed her arms over her chest, huffing and slamming her back irritably into the beanbag chair.

Peach stood up and offered Livi the letter. "We'll leave first thing in the morning, alright? How does that sound?"

Livi snatched the paper from Peach's gloved hand before she was finished, quickly scanning over the message. "Are you kidding?! That's great! This is totally amazing! Ohmygosh I'm going to Bowser's Castle!!"

Livi threw her arms around Peach, screaming ecstatically, then released the Princess, grabbing Luigi and yanking him up off the floor. She hugged her green-clad hero, swinging him around the room as she ranted on and on about the sheer amazingness of the current events. Daisy stood up, her hands clenching into tight fists, apparently about to take her boyfriend back by force. Peach and Mario laughed, holding her gently back as they watched Livi twirl about the room.

Certainly, everyone could tell, tomorrow was going to be something to remember.

* * *

Luigi awoke early in the morning, the sun just beginning to rise over the green hills of the Mushroom Kingdom valleys. There was already an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach—today he, Mario, and the Princesses were taking Livi up to Bowser's Castle. Everyone had already agreed to be on peaceful terms through the visit, but that castle still just gave Luigi the creeps. It was defiantly going to be a long day, and Luigi could tell already Livi was going to be very difficult to keep up with.

Luigi yawned and stretched, dragging himself out of bed. He and Mario were staying in a guest room in Peach's Castle, as they always did when Livi came over (during her first few visits, she had been known to sneak out into the gardens at night and attempt to pet the Chain Chomps), so they could keep an eye on her, since their room was just down the hall from her room.

Mario was still asleep in the bed across the room. Luigi decided it would be best to let him sleep a while, so he grabbed the green hat hanging on his bed post, without bothering to change out of his pajamas, and went out into the hallway, quietly walking down to Livi's room.

He knocked softly on the door, waited a few moments, then there was a light thump on the other side of the door—probably a pillow flung from across the room as a lazy signal to enter. Luigi opened the door, quietly stepping inside. Livi was on her bed playing Super Paper Mario, still in her pajamas as well. The way she was laying, she had the lower half of her face buried in a pillow, probably to keep herself from screaming. Wondering why this would be an issue, Luigi watched her click rapidly through Squirps' dialogue, then someone from off-screen said something. A flash of black swooped in, stomped on the little alien, and flew right back off.

As the screen cut, the music shifted to a certain villain's theme-song, and Livi saw a quick glimpse of Mr. L's arrogant smirk before she buried her face in the pillow, her muffled screaming making Luigi smile at the silly little fangirl. As she picked herself back up, she gestured wildly at the screen. "Look! Look, Weegee! It's Mr. L! Isn't he amazing?! He's totally amazing, ohmygosh!"

"Yes, he's very amazing, Livi…" Luigi said, sitting down on the bed beside Livi. He watched her click through the hero's dialogue as quick as she could, not able to care less about what Peach had to say, yet hanging intently on every word out of Mr. L's mouth.

After a minute or two, Mr. L introduced himself, the screen zooming in as he twirled around, striking a dramatic pose and proudly proclaiming himself to be the Green Thunder—Mr. L. Livi squealed with delight, burying her face in the pillow, and drumming her fists and feet on the bed.

"So… ready for today?" Luigi asked as Livi stopped spazzing.

"Are you kidding?" Livi asked, tensing as the fight ensued. "I haven't slept all night!"

"What?" For some strange reason, Luigi was surprised. "Livi… how long have you been playing this?"

"This is a new file." Livi said bluntly, intensely focused on trying to jump on Mr. L. She had only just reached the end of chapter four, so she was about halfway through the game, but the way Livi loved the dialogue of the game, no doubt it _had _taken her all night to get this far. Actually, this was a relatively quick pace for her.

"Livi, that's not good for you…" Luigi said gently, as though a father to his daughter. "Especially since there's going to be a lot going on today."

"Oh, please…" Livi tried to wave him off, quickly snatching her controller back up to spastically dodge Mr. L. "I'm a spaz—as soon as I'm in the same room as King Bowser Koopa, I'll be fine!"

Luigi sighed.

"What?" Livi asked, looking up at him as Mr. L gave up, summoning his Brobot. "Is something wrong?"

"Not really… I just…" Luigi sighed again. "You know how I worry about you…"

"Aw, Luigi!" Livi blushed, smiling and jumping up to throw her arms around Luigi's neck, hugging him tightly. "That's so sweet! You really care about me!!"

"Well, of c-course…" Luigi stammered, blushing a bit. "I promised Mario and P-peach I'd pro-protect you, right?"

"Aw, how sweet! That's totally adorable!!" Livi continued. She suddenly snapped out of her fangirlish rant by the sudden ceasing of Brobot's battle theme. The two looked up at the TV just in time to seem Mario fall off-screen, which quickly cut to "_GAME OVER_"

"CRAP!!" Livi shrieked, diving for the controller and pressing every button all at once, hoping she could somehow revive the fallen hero. "Aw, man! I didn't save since the chapter switch, either! I'm gonna have to do the Woah Zone all over again!"

Luigi laughed, patting her on the head. "Hey, it's okay… why don't you just get ready to go? The sooner you're dressed, the sooner you can bother Peach into taking you up to Bowser's Castle…"

Livi threw the controller to the ground, switching off the game, and jumped up. She grabbed Luigi's arm, pulling him off the bed and started pushing him towards the door. "Out, out, out! I have to get ready!"

"Okay, okay!" Luigi stepped out into the hallway. "I'll meet you downstairs in a bit, okay?"

"Sounds good!" Livi said, nodding. "Ohmygosh, I can't wait! This is going to be great!!"

With one last squeal of delight, Livi slammed the door shut. Luigi could hear random shuffling around and the throwing of discarded items as Livi searched for the perfect outfit and other little trinkets she found necessary.

Luigi laughed under his breath, shaking his head at Livi, then walked off back to his room to wake Mario up and get himself ready.

As a loud crash sounded behind him, followed by Livi's muffled laughter, Luigi made a mental note to stock up on Mushrooms, 1-UPs, and the like. No doubt either Livi was going to need them or her unfortunate guardians would.

--------------

_Hey guys! I'm trying to keep the revisions going quickly so we can get back to updating, but I'm really low on free-time at the moment. Hopefully, I can get this school crap cleared up and we can get back to the epic soon!_

_I'm really liking the re-writes so far, and I __**really **__like what I have in store for the other few chapters (remember: I'm only re-writing through chapter 7: max). I going to switch up Kamek's initial personality a little. I just seemed to me like his change was kind of… sudden… I don't like it…_

_I also plan to drag the Fawfulness out a little more before we find Dimentio, but I don't know how that's going to work._

_Any comments at all? I'd love to hear from you guys! It's always nice to know that my hard work is being appreciated! (though, truth be told, if everyone flamed me to death, I'd just keep writing anyway)_


	3. The Koopa Kingdom

_I fail at writing for Mario. Please forgive me. Let's just pretend I wrote his accent right, okay? :(_

* * *

_Beautiful… _The fangirl thought, her eyes glued to the airplane window, staring down into the Koopa Kingdom below. The black volcanoes were overflowing with sparkling lava that ran like rivers through the twisting valleys, illuminating the barren, broken ground. _It's even better than I thought…_

Livi felt a familiar smile creep across her face. She had never dreamed of anything as wonderful as this place. Even after exploring it in game after game after game, it was like seeing it for the very first time.

"This is going to be great…" Livi said to no one in particular, still staring out the window. "I'm going to meet Bowser… and the Koopa Troop… and… ohmygosh I'm totally gonna meet the Koopalings!!"

"Oh, really? Is-a that what you think?" Mario asked from behind her.

Livi whipped around to face him. "Of course I am!"

The interior of the plane was more like a small living room than an actual plane. Everything was fuzzy and pink, of course, as it _was _Peach's plane, but there was a large TV in the front for long trips, a nice soft carpeted floor, and there were even a few chairs and sofas scattered around. (Livi, for reasons unbeknownst to the others, had always wished the plane would crash so the furniture would fly everywhere) Livi was on her knees on the long bench-seat stretching from one end of the plane to another. Mario and Luigi sat in the middle of the floor playing some this-world game that Livi had never quite had the attention span to learn.

"Is that-a so?" Mario asked sarcastically, not bothering to look up from the game.

"You see if I don't!" Livi snapped, sticking her tongue out. Though he starred in the majority of the games, Mario was one of Livi's _least _favorite characters.

"_You _see if you can-a get past all the guards _and-a _Bowser…"

Luigi smacked his brother's arm. "Don't encourage her!" He hissed under his breath. Mario just laughed.

"Rawr…" Livi simply said, turning back to the window sulkily and trying her best to ignore them. If there was one thing she hated about meeting the Mario Brothers, it was that they were constantly reminding her how weak and inexperienced she was. Luigi would even let her play with the items, and she didn't have the hammer she wanted, and she couldn't jump (well, she could, but not like _them_) to save her life. She could _hardly _beat up the Koopa King in a video game, how on earth was she supposed to do it in _real life_?

The fangirl sighed heavily. Sometimes she wondered if she would ever find the adventure she really wanted.

Princess Peach picked that moment to enter the room from the drawn lacey curtains at the front of the room. "I'm back!" She cheerily announced.

Livi turned back around, raising an eyebrow. "You left?" She asked stupidly.

Peach smiled, trying not to look offended. "Yes, Livi… I've been in the front of the plane for quite some time. Daisy and I were both up there…"

"Oh…" Livi looked back out the window. "I thought there was an unusually good mood back here…"

"Oh, Daisy's not so bad…" Peach said gently.

"You kiddin'?" Livi argued. "Daisy's a little—"

"Livi!" Luigi interrupted, turning around to face her.

Livi smiled at him. "I'm just kiddin'!"

Peach laughed under her breath, covering her mouth with a gloved hand. "Anyway…" She said as she composed herself. "I just came back here to tell you all that we'll be landing soon, so you all need to get ready…"

"Yes, _mother_…" Livi said sarcastically, slowly forcing herself away from the window. Peach ignored her, disappearing back through the curtain.

Livi saw Luigi sit down on the couch across the room, and flung herself over into his lap, smiling stupidly with her arms tight around his waist. "I'll be your seat belt, Weegee!" She said, like the idiot she was.

Luigi blushed a bit, prying Livi's arms off of him and making her sit up in the seat beside him. A moment of silence passed, then Luigi barely caught Livi's shoulders as she tried to glomp him again. Livi huffed, sticking her nose up in the air and turning away. Luigi just sighed, shaking his head—there really wasn't any correct way to deal with Livi.

Livi stopped giving Luigi the cold shoulder as she heard Mario call her from across the room. He was in the same position Livi was previously in, looking out the window. Without turning around, he extended one finger and beckoned her over. Livi groaned at the idea of doing what Mario wanted, but she pushed herself off the couch anyway, skipping over to join him at the window.

"What?" Livi snapped, wearing a very bored expression.

Mario simply pointed out the window to the ground below. The runway that they were going to land on was visible, leading up to the Castle's front gate.

Livi squinted—she usually needed glasses to see things far away, and was totally blind without them—yet she couldn't see anything of interest that Mario could be pointing out. "What about it?"

Mario simply smiled, nodding down to the gates. "Look-a closer…"

* * *

"This is just ridiculous…" The elderly Magikoopa grumbled under his breath.

"I know… we're advisors and leaders—not messengers…" The female agreed. "How dare he assign _us_ a Paratroopa's job."

Kamek sighed. "Well, there's nothing to do about it… We don't want to upset Bowser…"

"Mm… you can say that again…" Kammy said, nodding in agreement.

The two Magikoopas were waiting in the doorway of the base stationed near the airplane runway. King Bowser had sent them out here to escort the visitors to his throne room. Of course, they both knew _who _was coming, and neither really approved of their master's ill decisions (both knowing he was only allowing it to please the Princess). So, with their dumb luck, attempting to reason with the dimwitted King got them sent down here as escorts to their rivals.

Kammy nodded up to the sky, peering over her cat-eye glasses. "Think that's them?"

Kamek followed her gaze to the pink plane in the sky, recognizing it as Peach's. "That's them alright…"

Kammy sighed, stepping outside of the base. "Well… here we go…"

-------------------

Livi screamed bloody murder, throwing herself around the room in a spastic fashion at the sight of Kamek, the second of her top five fandoms. She ranted on and on about everything that popped into her mind concerning the Magikoopa, but it was mostly mindless screaming.

As the fangirl pounced on Luigi, he desperately trying to calm her down, Peach rushed back into the room. She looked at Livi a moment, then asked Mario, "What's going on?!"

Mario pointed out the window. Peach come over, looking down and seeing Kamek and Kammy. It didn't take long for her to connect the dots, casting a worried glance over her shoulder at Livi, who was now about to strangle Luigi, she was hugging him so tight.

"We're going to keep a very close eye on her…" Peach said to Mario, barely making herself heard over Livi's nonstop screaming. Mario nodded, looking very worried himself. It was already very difficult to take care of Livi, even between the two heroes _and _princesses, but the fangirl had always _much _preferred the Koopa Kingdom to the Mushroom in her rantings. If they set her loose in that castle, there was no telling what would happen.

Suddenly, however, it was too late to consider any of that.

The plane landed on the long runway, coming to a stop just in front of one of the bases that kept watch here. The two Magikoopas could be seen approaching the plane, talking between themselves—neither looking very happy.

On the plus side, though there were no troops with them, so it looked like Bowser was going to keep his promise of peace.

On the negative side, Luigi had lost his grip on Livi just as the plane door lowered down so the staircase on the inside of it was touching the ground. Livi flung herself outside before the stairs hit the ground, none of the others being quite quick enough to catch her.

Before they knew what was happening, Kamek hit the ground, Kammy recoiling in shock as he irritably tried to push Livi off, which was proving very difficult since Livi was hugging him so his arms were pinned to his sides.

Luigi jumped off the stairs, running over to help Kamek. Peach scurried off, Mario and Daisy quickly following her. Luigi grabbed Livi, yanking her off of the Magikoopa. She ignored him, still screaming, and trying desperately to re-glomp her fandom.

"Livi, stop that!" Luigi snapped, still trying to keep a hold on Livi.

"OHMYGOSHIT'SKAMEKHE''TBELIEVEIT'SREALLYHIM," was the closest thing to a response Luigi got.

"I'm very sorry, Kamek…" Peach said sweetly, as Mario helped him up. "Livi's a tricky one to handle… we had no idea she would do something like this, honest!"

Kamek waved her off, shaking his head to clear it up a bit. "I'm alright, Peach… It's fine…"

Livi screamed again at the sound of his voice, lunging forward, Luigi now barely able to hang on. Daisy smacked her upside the head. "Will you knock it off and behave like a civilized human?!" she snapped.

Livi growled, forgetting Kamek entirely, and pushed Luigi off, flinging herself at Daisy. Somehow, Daisy wasn't the least bit surprised, and the two wound up rolling across the dirt floor, beating on each other, clawing with their nails and tearing each other's hair out.

"Oh no…" Peach moaned. "Ladies, stop it! Stop that this instant!" The pink princess scurried off to separate them as Daisy quickly overwhelmed Livi.

"Sorry 'bout-a that, Kamek…" Mario said. "Livi's a little… ah…"

"Insane?" Kammy offered.

"You realize she's dead if she pulls that kind of stunt in front of King Bowser, yes?" Kamek reminded them.

"Oh, yeah…" Kammy agreed. "He's not going to put up with any of this nonsense…"

"Don't worry; we'll keep her under control." Luigi assured them. "Everything should be fine now…"

Suddenly, Luigi was hit square in the back by the fangirl as she took shelter from Daisy. He would have toppled over forwards had he not been so used to it by now. "Luigi! Daisy's going to kill me!" she wailed.

"No, she's not…" Luigi assured her, pulling Livi away from his back and taking her into his arms. "If anyone's going to kill you, it'll be Bowser, if you keep behaving like this…"

"Nooooooooooo…" Livi moaned, slumping to the ground as she fell limp under Luigi's grip. "I don't want Bowser to eat me!"

"Then you better stop tackling things…"

"I can't help it! Kamek's just soooooo cuuuuuuuute…" Livi sighed dreamily. She suddenly perked up, glaring at Luigi. "And it's not tackling! It's _glomping_! There's a difference!"

"_I _don't see much of one…" Kamek growled, brushing off his robes.

Livi smiled at him. "Glomping is done with endearment, of course!"

"Death by endearment?" Kammy mused, utterly dumbfounded—like Livi was speaking a foreign language.

"Yes, that's it exactly!" Livi chirped, then suddenly turning away with her nose in the air. "Not that I'd _ever _agree with _her_, though…"


	4. Here come the Koopalings

By some bizarre chain of events, Livi's protectors found themselves unwillingly separated from their fangirl. Last they had seen, she was in hysterics, thoroughly convinced that Bowser was going to "eat her". So, since she was _clearly _not quite up to meeting the King just yet, the Magikoopas had suggested they take her to meet the Koopalings, and before the others could realize what a horrible idea that was, Livi was gone.

Currently, Livi was following Kammy Koopa down the corridors of Bowser's Castle, keeping a very firm grip on Kamek's arm, much to his displeasure. He flinched a bit every time she squealed with delight at the sight of a Koopa Trooper, which was about every five seconds. Thankfully, there were less and less baddies the closer they got to the Playroom, everyone being terrified to go near such a horrible place.

"The Koopalings won't eat me, right?" Livi asked Kamek, watching a few swoopers fly overhead in the opposite direction they were walking.

Kamek sighed. "No, they won't eat you."

"Are you _sure_?" Livi asked playfully.

"Yes, we're sure!" Kammy snapped irritably. "No one's going to eat you, so shut up, you ignorant little pest!"

Livi was silent for a while, staring down at the floor.

"Hey!" Kamek snapped. "What was that for? She didn't do anything to you!"

"Oh, don't tell me you're gonna _defend _the little brat?" Kammy stopped walking, turning around to face Kamek. "You just as sick of her obnoxious little mouth as I am!"

"Well, you don't have to be a jerk about it! She's just a kid!"

Kammy smirked. "Oh, so of _course _you would defend the little _kid_… am I right, _Nanny Kamek_?"

Rather than waiting for a reply, Kammy turned around and walked off down the hall, laughing under her breath. Kamek growled to himself, slowly following her. Livi tightened her grip on Kamek's arm to get his attention. The Magikoopa turned to look down at her, waiting for her to continue.

"Thank you…" Livi said softly, looking at him from under her lashes.

Kamek smiled for a brief moment, nodding at her. "Don't worry about it…"

Livi smiled at him, laying her head on his shoulder. "I never would have expected that from someone like you…" she said, still staying quiet so Kammy wouldn't yell at her again.

Kamek thought about that, then looked questioningly at her. "You've only heard about us… through those video games… right?"

Livi nodded. "That's right. I'm totally obsessed."

Kamek nodded in understanding, looking out the windows. "That explains it then…"

"What do you mean?" Livi asked, confused.

"Let's just say…" Kamek sighed, smiling at her again. "There's a lot about me that you wouldn't expect…"

Livi's smile got wider. "Really? Like what?"

Before she could find out, however, there was a loud banging sound at the end of the hall. Kammy jumped slightly, rushing around the corner towards the source of the noise. Kamek followed her, taking Livi's hand and pulling her behind him.

At the end of the hallway were two large, red doors, rattling and banged-up so much that the force keeping them in the wall was a mystery to Livi. The sound, it seemed, was something being kicked repeatedly against the other side of the wall. A large shell, maybe?

Kammy quickly undid the magical charm on the doors, throwing them open and rushing inside. Livi tried to follow her, but Kamek yanked her back. "Wait, fangirl… are you _sure _you're up for this? If you're scared of Bowser, there's no _way _you'll be able to face the Koopalings…"

Livi waved him off, smirking proudly. "Oh, please, I just said that so I wouldn't have to hang out with Mario and Peach all day—those two weirdos ruin everything…" Livi suddenly pushed herself up on her tiptoes so she was eye-to-eye with Kamek, glaring at him, though she was still smiling. "And I'm not _fangirl_… the name's _Livi_, the _OBSESSIVE Fangirl_… Get it right."

Kamek was stunned for a moment, but he smiled at her anyway, sighing. "Alright, _Livi_… would you like to meet the Koopalings now?"

Livi nodded ecstatically, shoving her hand in Kamek's face. He grabbed it, rolling his eyes as he pulled her into the Playroom. "And good luck… you're going to need it…"

Inside, the room was completely destroyed. Every toy was shredded to bits, there were burn marks across the walls, and even a few cracks in the stone where someone had punched it a few times. Only a lucky few of the columns holding up the ceiling were still in one piece. The rugs and curtains were shredded, and the furniture wasn't any better.

The Koopalings themselves were currently preoccupied with either beating each other up, or arguing with Kammy about _why _they were beating each other up (the noise, it seemed, had been one Koopaling in his shell, being, indeed, kicked against the wall). Suddenly, one of the Koopalings tore his gaze away from the fighting to stare at Livi, still standing by the door and looking around as Kamek sealed it (to stop the Koopalings from getting out, no doubt). The Koopaling stared at Livi a while, blinking his eyes a few times.

Livi, having noticed him, smiled ecstatically, waving at him in a rather spastic fashion. "Hi, Larry!" She said.

Somehow, over all the noise, he heard her, looking a bit shocked that she knew his name. Then, as realization struck, Larry turned around to his siblings, pointing at Livi and screaming out, "Look! Look, guys! It's the fangirl!! Look, it's her—it's that fangirl!!"

Within the next three seconds, all the Koopalings completely forgot what they were previously doing, dashing across the room to investigate their visitor. They were all still yelling and screaming, mostly to each other, but a few trying to grab Livi's attention.

It took a while, but Kamek and Kammy were eventually able to calm down the young Princes and Princess. The eight of them (counting Bowser Jr.) wound up sitting in a semi-circle around Livi and the Magikoopas, staring up at them expectantly.

Livi was standing behind Kamek, noting for the first time how _large _some of them where. The tallest of them was probably Roy, and he was almost the same height as Livi, the smallest being Junior, who would have come to just above her waist. It was really very terrifying to meet them—it was just like being in a room full of mini-Bowsers.

"Alright, first things first: I believe introductions are an order…" Kamek addressed the Koopalings, before Kammy had a chance to. "Everyone, this is—"

Kamek was about to introduce Livi, but paused when he felt the fangirl jump behind him in fear. He turned to look at her over his shoulder, not looking very happy.

"What are you doing?" He asked bitterly.

"They're gonna eat me…" Livi whined pitifully. Kammy growled and raised her wand slightly, Livi yelping and clinging to Kamek.

"Kammy stop it!" Kamek said. He gently took Livi's hand, pulling her forward. "Look, Livi, no one's going to eat you…"

"Yes, they are!" Livi moaned, digging her heels into the carpet to resist being dragged any closer to the Koopalings.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Roy cut in. "She tinks we gonna _eat _'er?"

"Why the heck would we do that? I mean, we're not, like, _cannibals _or anything." Morton started ranting. "We don't run around eating humans, or would we have to eat _koopas _to be cannibals? Ya know, if anyone, the _Toads _are cannibals, I mean, don't they run around eating _mushrooms_? That's, like, really weird and—"

Roy smacked his brother harshly upside the head. "Shaddup!! Jeez!"

"Aw, don't pick on poor little Morton!" Livi said pitifully, peeking out from behind Kamek.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! The fangirl knows my name! The fangirl knows my name!" Morton said ecstatically, bouncing up and down.

"I said _shaddup_!!" Roy repeated, smacking Morton again.

"She probably knows _all _our names…" Larry said. "She knew mine…"

"Vell?" Ludwig asked her, looking skeptical. "Do you know our names?"

Livi nodded, stepping away from Kamek a bit. "Uh, yeah, of course… who doesn't, right?"

"Oh! I wanna hear it!" Morton said. He opened his mouth to say something else, but thought better of it when Roy raised his hand again.

"Okay, uh…" Livi took a deep breath, looking around at the Koopalings. She then pointed to each one individually as she named them off. "Okay, you're Ludwig Von Koopa, the oldest, and heir to the Koopa throne, known for the composing of 'Koopa Symphonies', which I would _love _to hear… you're Lemmy Koopa, the second oldest, my personal favorite, and never without your large yellow ball… you're Roy Koopa, the third oldest, a total bully and mean to all your siblings, and really tough and manly, despite your shell being pink… you're Iggy Koopa, the middle child, though some say you're Lemmy's twin, and you're a genius, yet allegedly insane… you're Wendy O. Koopa, the third youngest, the only female, spoiled rotten, but you can kick all the guys' butts… you're Morton Koopa Jr., the second youngest, and no one quite knows where the 'Jr.' in your name comes from, and you really have a tendency to talk _way _too much… you're Larry Koopa, the youngest Koopaling, very sly and sneaky, and seem to have a great interest in sports, especially tennis… and _you _are Bowser Koopa Jr., the youngest of Bowser's children, but not technically a Koopaling, because you're a loser, and daddy's precious little angel…"

Everyone was staring at her, mouth agape, when she was finished. The Koopalings had only asked for their names, and she had told them everything she knew about them (Livi had even surprised herself a bit with how much she had picked up off of Fanfiction).

"I can tell you your other names, too…" Livi offered, feeling a surge of pride that she had impressed the Koopalings.

"Ozzer names?" Ludwig asked. "Vat do you mean?"

"Well, you guys know you appear in stuff _besides _video games, right?"

The Koopalings all nodded in agreement, looking very much like they were hypnotized.

"Well, um… there's this really old, and really stupid cartoon about the Mario Bros.… and for some reason, you all have different names… except for Junior, since he's not even in the series, because he's a loser…"

"What the heck?!" Junior shouted indignantly. "How many times are you going to call me a loser?"

"Several." Was the only reply.

"But, that's not—"

"Shuttup, Junior!" All the Koopalings said in unison, silencing their brother.

"Gow on…" Wendy said, waving her hand in Livi's direction. "Awe you gonna tew us ow not?"

"Okay, lessee…" Livi said, staring up at the ceiling. "Ludwig was _Kooky Von Koopa_, because he was the wild, crazy one. Lemmy and Iggy were _Hip and Hop Koopa_, which is probably where everyone gets the idea that you're twins. Roy was _Bully Koopa_, and I don't need to explain that one, do I? Wendy O. was _Kootie Pie Koopa_… though I'm not sure why… maybe it just sounded cute? I dunno… Anyways, Morton was _Big Mouth Koopa Jr._, which, again, no trouble explaining that one. And finally, Larry was _Cheatsy Koopa_, because he was always really sly and sneaky, and cheating his way out of things."

As soon as she finished, the Koopalings all started either adoring their own name, like Wendy's adorably precious name, and Iggy and Lemmy's matching names, or they were making fun of each other, mainly _Big Mouth _about to get another fist-to-the-face, courtesy of _Bully_.

"Way to go…" Kammy sneered at Livi. "You got them all fighting again…"

"Leave her alone." Kamek said sternly. "She hasn't done anything wrong."

Kammy scoffed. "Okay, sure she hasn't…" She said, rolling her eyes.

"What _did _I do wrong?" Livi asked bitterly. "I'm just entertaining them! It's better than letting them kill each other, right?"

"No, it's _not_!" Kammy snapped. "They would be better off learning to fight than listening to stupid stories about Real World!"

"Well, they deserve to hear stories! God knows the next time you'll let them out of here!"

All the Koopalings gasped in surprise, having been intently watching the fight. There was a long moment of silence before anyone dared to speak again.

"…What did you say?" Kammy growled.

"I said 'God knows the next time you'll let them out of here'…" Livi replied, glaring at Kammy. "We go for _years _in Real World without seeing them… we all love them to death, but they never appear in _anything_! It's because you keep them all locked up in here like _prisoners,_ isn't it?!"

"Alright, that's enough!" Kammy yelled, raising her wand threatingly. "Who do you think you are to tell _me _what to do?!"

"I think I'm a Fangirl! People just like me determine _everything _you do! Your games wouldn't exist with out us! _You _wouldn't exist without us!"

Magical shapes began to twirl around the tip of Kammy's wand. "_You _won't exist anymore if you don't shut that smart mouth soon…" She growled at Livi.

"Kammy, stoppit!" All the Koopalings shrieked.

"You can't huwt hew, Kammy!" Wendy whined.

"She didn't mean anything! Leave her alone!" Lemmy and Iggy said simultaneously.

Livi smirked at Kammy, though still eyeing her wand fearfully. "Better do what they say, huh? Aren't they in charge of you?"

Kammy growled, but, she lowered her wand nonetheless, the shapes vanishing as the light in the wand dimmed. Livi breathed a heavy sigh of relief, slumping back as Kamek held a firm grip on her shoulders to steady her.

"Livi _doez _make an excellent point, zough…" Ludwig mused. "We 'ardly leave our roomz anymore…"

"And for good reason." Kammy snapped. "Look what you've done to the Playroom! Give me one good reason why we should let you roam the castle!?"

There was another long, tense silence as all the Koopalings tried desperately to think of a good excuse. They had tried this a few other times, but it never seemed to work.

"Psst." Livi hissed to Lemmy, who was sitting closest to her. "Psssssst!"

"What?" He whispered, Kammy thankfully not noticing.

"Say, 'because we say so'!" Livi hissed under her breath.

Lemmy smiled, then stood up, walking over to Kammy. "Because we say so!"

Kammy's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

"Hey, dat's right!" Roy chimed in. "_We're _in charge o' _yous_, ain't we?"

Junior snickered. "Yeah! You have to do what _we _say!"

Kammy growled. "No, I don't, you little _brats_! Your dad set me in charge of _you _to keep you all safe, which is what I'm doing!"

"Actually…" Kamek put in, smiling at Kammy. "King Bowser's orders were to keep the children _happy_… _occupied_… and _Out. Of. His. Way._"

"Wha?" Kammy looked panicked. "B-but… that's not…"

"And, isn't that what I'm trying to do?" Livi asked innocently.

"You stay out of this, fangirl!"

Livi just smirked, then turned to the Koopalings, throwing her hands up in the air. "WHO WANTS TO GO PLAY WITH THE BULLET BILL CANNONS?!!?!"

"ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME!!!" They all shrieked at once, standing up and starting their usual ruckus.

Livi smiled at Kammy. "You heard 'em…"

"B-but… I… you…" Kammy gaped at Livi, then turned to Kamek, who was looking rather amused at her panic. "Aren't you going to do something?!"

Kamek shrugged. "Why should I? King Bowser told me to watch Livi… _you're _in charge of the kids today…" Here, he cast her a rather malicious grin. "I'm sure he'll _love _hearing you explain why they're off shooting Bullet Bills at other Kingdoms."

"Oh! Oh!" Livi said, pointing frantically at Kamek. "He just gave you permission!!"

Kamek gave her a look. "No, I didn't…"

"Well, it was close enough!" Livi screamed. "I heard 'they're all going to go play with the cannons!'"

"I didn't say anything like that!"

"Well, whatever! Say it now!"

Kammy elbowed him. "Yeah, Kamek… go on… give 'em permission."

"Oh!" Kamek's eyes suddenly lit up as he smiled ecstatically. "Did you hear her?! She said 'permission'!"

"Yay, he's right!" Livi said, clapping enthusiastically.

"What?" Kammy asked, looking very dumbstruck.

"Wait, if we have her _permission _to play with the cannons…" Iggy mused.

"And if the cannons are _outside_ the Playroom…" Lemmy continued, smiling.

"We have permission to leave the Playroom!" They said at the same time.

"Why do you care about permission?" Livi suddenly yelled. "You're the Koopalings! You don't listen to anyone!"

"Watch this!" Iggy and Lemmy said, rushing over to the sealed door. They grabbed the heavy metal rings, and gave a hard, firm yank.

And, much to everyone's surprise, the doors flew right open.

"It opened…" The twins said, both looking very stunned.

It only took the Koopalings a matter of seconds to realize the door was open and they were free at last. Within the next few seconds, they were all suddenly outside, off to the Bullet Bill Cannons, dragging the fangirl with them.

"Oh no…" Kammy moaned, still completely stunned. "Oh no, this isn't going to end well…"

"Oh, come now, you don't know that…" Kamek said in very sarcastic support. "Why don't we go _watch _the Koopalings kill themselves, and _then _everything will end badly!"

Kammy growled. "I'm gonna get you for this… and that sorry little fangirl, too…"

* * *

"_I'll get you, my pretty… and your little dog, too!" LoL, gotta love that Wizard of Oz… Kammy is quite the bitter old witch, isn't she?_

_Okay, well, whatever… updates should be coming quicker any time now… this would have been up a few days ago, but I've a horrible Head Cold (and on exam week, too!) so, I could hardly look at the screen long enough to type a single friggin paragraph… Oh, well…_

_Oh, yeah, and to the long-term viewers reading this—this one was getting kind of lengthy, so I couldn't fit in the Bullet Bill scene yet. I'll just tack it onto the next chapter, how does that sound, eh? For the new viewers—ignore that last part, there…_

_Updates soon! I promises!_


	5. The First Victory

"FIRE!!" The Koopalings all shouted. Right on cue, a large Bonzai Bill rocketed out of its cannon and shot out into the sky, right out of sight.

"That was awesome!" Livi screamed, watching it fly off. She turned around to Iggy and Lemmy, who had taken to following her around. "Where's it going?"

Lemmy shrugged in ignorance. Iggy sighed, then answered Livi's question, "That one had no coordinates… it will probably harmlessly burn out in the wastelands somewhere…"

All the Koopalings, the young fangirl, and both Magikoopas were standing on one of the platforms between the four towers of Bowser's Castle. Each of these platforms held several Bullet and Bonzai Bill Cannons to ward off oncoming enemies, should any _dare _to attack.

"Well, then…" Livi continued. "Let's shoot one off with coo… coordi… somewhere to go!"

"Alright, zen…" Ludwig said, taking up the controls. "Vere vould you like to go?"

"Oh! Less launch it at da Mushroom Kingdom!" Roy screamed.

"Okay, let's not!!" Livi said, looking very panicked.

Roy stuck a tongue out at her. "Fun-killa…"

"Well we need to launch it at _some _kingdom because there isn't really anywhere here that isn't a kingdom. I think that's stupid. Don't you think that's stupid? That there's nowhere that isn't some kingdom? There needs to be some neutral territory that's just--" Morton continued rambling on even when Livi clamped her hand over his mouth in an attempt to quiet him.

She turned to Lemmy. "Is he _always _like this?"

Iggy and Lemmy said simultaneously, "You have _no _idea."

"Okay, wadies…" Wendy said. "Can we _pwease _just huwwy and bwow sumfin up?"

"Oh, yeah!" Livi said, as she started to pace around, Lemmy and Iggy following her like shadows. "Okay, uh… what are we gonna do?"

"Blow something up…" Kammy sneered. "I believe you've all well established that…"

Livi waved her off irritably. "Shut up! I know that, stupid!"

"I know that you're stupid too…" came the airy reply as Kammy examined her claws.

"SHUT UP!" The fangirl shrieked.

"WILL YOU PICK A TARGET ALREADY?!!" Roy cut in, looking very ill-tempered.

"Okay, okay! Oi!" Livi said, holding her hands up defensively. "Hmm… lessee…"

"Why can't we just hit the Mushroom Kingdom?" Larry asked.

"'As what _AH _said!!" Roy said.

"We're not hitting the Mushroom Kingdom!" Livi said.

"Well, why not?" Larry asked. "It's no big deal… We're practically at war with them every other weekend…"

"I know, but still…" Livi said, uneasily rubbing her arm. "I kinda live there now… I don't really wanna blow up Peach's Castle if I'm staying there… besides, that's where I keep all my games and junk!"

Roy rolled his eyes behind his thick sunglasses. "Oi… fangirls…"

"Shuttup, man…" Livi whined, pacing over to lean on the raised bit of wall holding the cannons. She looked down below to the beaten path around the castle, her eyes lighting up as she saw someone approaching.

Bowser himself was walking in their direction, the two Princesses to his left and right as he was listening to Peach telling some sort of story. The Mario Brothers were with them, trailing a ways behind and talking in hushed tones to each other.

"Daisy…" Livi whispered, watching the group intently.

"What?" Lemmy asked loudly, looking over Livi's shoulder from his perch on his ball.

"Shhh…" Livi hissed, waving him off.

"But, what did you say?" He asked, louder.

"_Shhhhhhhhh!_" Livi hissed bitterly, waving harder. She crouched down behind the wall, barely peering over the edge, and motioning for Lemmy to do the same. "Get down!"

He hopped off of his ball, crouching down to assume the same position as the fangirl. A few of the others ran over and did the same, trying to see what Livi was looking at. After a while of confusedly watching Bowser and the others walk down the path, the group down below opened a large door in the side of the castle and disappeared inside.

"Ludwig!" Livi shouted, standing up as soon as they were gone. "Aim the cannons towards Sarasaland!!"

All the Koopalings started scurrying around getting the cannons ready, simply elated at the idea of _finally _hitting something. The Magikoopas, meanwhile, exchanged a very nervous glance, then Kamek stood up from where he and Kammy were seated on the ground to approach Livi.

"Uh, fangirl…" Kamek said uneasily.

"_Livi_." She snapped, not turning around to look at him.

Kamek sighed, rolling his eyes. "Livi… Not to argue with you or anything… but, why Sarasaland?"

"Daisy lives there." Was the rather blunt reply.

"Right… so wouldn't you want to _avoid _hitting an ally kingdom?"

"Yes, of course…"

"Well… then why would you target Sarasaland?"

"Daisy lives there!"

Kamek screwed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his beak. "Okay, now you're just arguing in circles… Yes, Daisy lives there! So, _why _would you want to—"

"Because I hate Daisy!" Livi snapped, turning around at last. "She's a loser, and she _thinks _she loves Luigi more than I do, and I don't care what the other stupid losers say because SHE TOTALLY STARTED IT!!"

Livi stormed off to the other Koopalings, ignoring the stunned look Kamek was giving her.

"Alright, Ludwig, ready yet?" Livi asked.

Ludwig tapped away at the control panel, then smiled and gave Livi a thumbs-up. "Ready to go, Livi! Just give zee word!"

Livi smiled. "A'right then…" With that, she jumped up on the walls, raised a fist in the air, and screamed. "READY!! AIM!! _FIRE!!!_"

About seven Bonzai and innumerable Bullet Bills launched out of the cannons, and shot off in the direction of the flower princess' kingdom.

Livi's smile widened as she watched them fly off. The Koopalings were all yelling and screaming in victory behind her, but she didn't hear any of it. She just stood there on the wall, eyes fixed firmly on the sky where the Bills have vanished.

"Revenge is sweet…" she sighed.

-----------------

"And, then, in Partners in Time, he was totally a spoiled rotten little brat…" Livi ranted to the Koopalings.

"Ya mean like 'er?" Roy asked, pointing at Wendy, who stopped her foot indignantly.

"Yeah, exactly like her!"

The group was currently walking down the corridors of the castle again, their cannon games being cut short as Bowser summoned them over the loudspeaker system. They were all now on their way to the throne room to meet the King and the others who had been with him. As they walked, the Koopalings were all gathered around Livi, listening intently as she told them stories about their father from what she had seen in the games (though she was throwing in a little of her favorite fanfictions here and there)

"King Dad was _not _like _Wendy_!" Larry protested, though he was smiling in amusement.

"Oh, yeah! He totally was! Right, Kamek?" Livi asked, turning around to face the Magikoopas, who had been arguing quietly between themselves.

"Please don't drag me into this…" Kamek moaned, drawing his attention away from Kammy.

"C'mon! Tell 'em about how spoiled Bowser was!"

Kamek shook his head. "King Bowser was never spoiled… she's making that up…"

"Uh-huh… sure…" Livi said sarcastically, glaring at the Magikoopa. She then took on a very pouty face, and started to whine, "Kaaaaaaaaameeeeeeeeeeeeeek! Get me some Yoshi Cookies! And evil milk! And go beat up the stupid Mawio Bwos because I'm too lazy and stoopid ta do it myself!"

The Koopalings all started laughing hysterically at her impression of their younger father. Kamek blushed with embarrassment at the memories, and Kammy just stared at the fangirl, mouth agape in disbelief.

"Livi, that's not—" Kamek started to argue, but was quickly cut short.

"SHUTTUP, KAMEK!!" Livi screamed in her Baby Bowser voice, stomping her foot on the ground. "I'M THE PRINCE SO SHUT UP AND DO WHAT I SAY!!"

The Koopalings were rolling with laughter now. Kamek growled. "Livi, someone's going to hear you! Stop that this instant!!"

With that, Livi threw herself onto the floor, kicking and screaming as she banged her fists on the floor. "BUT I DON'T WANNA!!" She wailed.

The Koopalings all burst out laughing. They had seen Junior pull this stunt with their father multiple times, and it was suddenly very easy to imagine where he had gotten it from. Kamek shoved a few of them aside, grabbed the back of Livi's shirt, and yanked her off the ground. She simply fell into his arms, smiling up at him.

"Yes, can I help you?" She asked in her normal voice.

Kamek narrowed his eyes. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Why, yes! Yes, I am!" She chirped.

"You're going to be the death of me, ya know that?" He asked, not looking very happy.

"Aw, you know I love you!" Livi said, throwing her arms around the Magikoopa.

Kamek sighed, then lowered his voice so the others wouldn't hear. "If you loved me, you'd stop making a fool out of me…"

"But, I'm not!" Livi said in the same hushed tone.

"Yes, you are… I know you're just making fun of his Demandingness, but what will the Koopalings think of me, knowing I did those sorts of things for him?"

Livi thought about that a minute, then pulled away from Kamek, looking up at him. "Does that really bug you?"

Kamek nodded. "Yes, it does… will you _please _stop?"

Livi nodded fiercely, hugging him again. "Okay, okay… I'll stop, I promise! I didn't know I was hurting you—because you know I would NEVER do that, right?!"

Kamek sighed, smiling briefly to himself. "Yeah, I'm starting to pick up on that…"

* * *

"ALL HAIL KING BOWSER!!" Livi said as she burst into the throne room, the Koopalings scurrying in behind her. The Magikoopas ran in ahead of her, approaching their king.

"Sir, I'm so sorry we're late…" Kamek said.

"It was the stupid fangirl's fault! She took forever!" Kammy continued.

"Believe me, we would have been here sooner—"

"But, of course, that little _idiot_—"

"Just _had _to be as _difficult _as possible—"

Bowser held up a hand, both Magikoopas instantly shutting up. The King was seated on his throne, Peach seated on the steps leading up to it just below him, and the Mario Brothers standing off to the side. "It's alright you two, you're not in any trouble, so don't start blaming each other."

Kamek and Kammy sighed in relief, bowing their heads to Bowser. He waved them off and they obediently scurried off to the side, instantly arguing under their breath again.

The Koopalings ran forward as soon as the Magikoopas were out of the way, yelling and screaming as they tried desperately to seize their father's attention. Bowser just laughed as he waved them off, trying to calm them down so he could understand at least one or two of them.

Meanwhile, Livi flung herself into Luigi's arms. He hugged her back, looking very relieved to see that she was still in one piece.

"Luigi, look! I'm alive! The Koopalings tried ALL DAY to kill me, and it didn't work!" She jumped off of him, gesturing to herself. "Look! Not a scratch on me!"

Luigi smiled. "Good, I'm glad you're alright… you really scared me, running off like that…"

Livi looked down at her feet. "I know… I'm sorry… But, it's okay! Kamek took good care of me! And all the Koopalings love me!"

"I thought they were trying to kill you?"

Livi waved him off. "Yeah, they do that…" She looked around the throne room, still smiling. "Where's loser?"

Luigi sighed. "Are you referring to Daisy?"

"That's what I said… loser!"

Luigi rolled his eyes at her, then suddenly looked very unnerved. "We don't know where she went… she said there was some sort of emergency in her kingdom, and she's going to be gone for a while…"

Livi's grin spread maliciously across her face. "Oh _really_? Is that so?"

"Oh, so this must be the fangirl I've heard so much about, huh?" said a gruff voice from across the room. Livi looked up and saw Bowser looking right at her, the Koopalings whispering now, a few pointing to her.

Livi stared at Bowser a moment, utterly stunned. Then, she screamed as loud as she could, diving behind Luigi. "WEEGEE HELP HE'S GONNA EAT ME OMIGOSH DON'T LET HIM EAT ME!!!"

"Livi, shhhhhhhhh! Calm down! No one's going to eat you!" Luigi said, trying desperately to keep Livi still.

"Oh, no…" Kammy moaned. "Sir, I'm so sorry… Please, she's just an idiot… just ignore her!"

Kamek, rather than fighting Kammy for Bowser's attention, ran across the room over to Livi, taking her in his arms, Livi gratefully glomping him back. "Shhh… Livi, it's alright…" He gently assured her. "Bowser's not going to hurt you…"

"YES HE IS!!" She shrieked.

"No, he's not… it's okay… He just wants to say 'hi' to you…"

Livi stood there a moment, then she looked up at Kamek. "Re… Really?"

"Yes, really… we've all heard so much about you… he's been dying to meet you!"

"Oh…" Livi hugged Kamek tighter, looking over her shoulder at the Koopa King. "Really? Bowser wants to meet me?"

"He's been wanting to meet you all day, but you ran off on your crazy little adventure with the Koopalings…"

"Oh… No, I'm scared! I can't do it!" Livi wailed, burying her face in Kamek's robes.

"Yes, you can… Iggy! Lemmy!" Kamek called over the two Koopalings, who came rushing over to Livi's side.

"I don't believe this…" Bowser whispered to himself.

"Well, Livi is a rather bizarre girl, we've already warned you…" Peach said sweetly.

"No, not that… Kamek."

Peach looked over, watching the group. Iggy and Lemmy gently took Livi's hands, as Kamek kept a hand firm on her shoulder, encouraging her to go talk to the King. "What about him?"

"I've never seen him act like that before… He's never been that… sweet… and sympathetic…"

Peach smiled knowingly. "Maybe he cares about her?"

For a brief moment, Bowser smiled as well. "Yeah… maybe…"

At that moment, Iggy and Lemmy succeeded in pulling Livi over to Bowser, where she stood in front of his throne. Kamek went back to his previous spot beside Kammy, smiling at Livi as he passed. Livi released Iggy and Lemmy's hands, took a deep breath, then smiled up to Bowser. "Hey, Bowser…"

Bowser flashed a toothy grin at her. "Hey there, fangirl… Name's Livi, right?"

Livi's smile widened as she nodded her head. "Yup! That's right!"

"These losers you hang out with have been telling me all about you… Ya really like Dark Land, huh?"

"Oh, of course! The Koopa Troop is the best!"

"Really? That so?"

"Oh yeah! I love Boos and Koopas and Goombas and Chain Chomps and Paratroopas and Poodaboos and Monty Moles and Hammer Bros. and Mousers and Shy Guys and Dry Bones and—"

"Alright, alright, I get it…" Bowser laughed, waving her off. "Ya don't gotta tell me twice, I know how amazing we are…"

Livi laughed nervously. "Ah, yes… very amazing…"

Lemmy thumped her arm. "Ask him!" He said in a hushed voice. Livi shook her head 'no', suddenly looking very nervous. Iggy tapped her other arm. "Go on!" He said in the same whisper. "Ask him, he won't mind!" Livi just shook her head more, trying to wave them off.

"Ask me what?" Bowser demanded.

Livi jumped a bit in surprise, staring up at Bowser. "Uh… n-no-nothing…"

"It's gotta be something… Now, come on; out with it! What is it?"

"Uh… well… see, um…" Livi stammered, playing with her hair. "I was just wondering… if I could, uh… ya know, _borrow _something… just for a little bit…"

Bowser raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Something like what?"

Livi mumbled something under her breath, but Bowser didn't hear her.

"Well? Something like what?"

Livi gulped nervously, then said, in a very small voice, "Kamek."

"What?" Kamek suddenly snapped out of his current argument with Kammy as his name came up.

"Are you kidding me?" Bowser asked, not entirely sure how to take such a request. "You want to borrow… _Kamek_?"

"What?!" Kamek got the feeling he had tuned into the conversation at entirely the wrong moment.

"It was the Koopalings idea!" Livi said, trying to defend herself. "I was telling them about my top five fandoms, and well… Since it's my birthday and all… They said it'd be a good idea if I went and found them! And they could come stay at Mushroom Castle with me!"

"And where does my advisor tie into this?"

"Well, of my top five, I already have the first one…" Livi said, pointing to Luigi. "Then, the second one is Kamek! So, I'll need him to come back with me!"

"What?! Are you out of your mind?!" Kamek snapped. "I can't just abandon my kingdom to follow a fangirl around!"

"Oh, calm down, Kamek…" Peach said sweetly. "I think it's a great idea!"

"Oh, defiantly!" Kammy put in. "Don't you wanna help the little twerp?"

Kamek cast her a cold glare. "Shut up, Kammy."

"Look, I dunno, Peachy…" Bowser said, ignoring the Magikoopas. "I don't think it's such a good idea…"

"Oh, come on, Bowser…" Peach said, standing up and approaching the king. "I wouldn't hurt anything… we would take good care of Kamek while he stayed with us. It wouldn't be any trouble at all…"

"_What?!_" Kamek shrieked, running over to Bowser. "Oh, nononononono!! Your Unreasonableness, with all due respect, this is a _terrible _idea! You can't just send me off to live with our enemies!!"

Bowser nodded to Kamek. "He's got a point, Peachy… What am I supposed to do?"

"Well, you could trust me…" Peach said, gently reaching out and stroking Bowser's mane. "You know I would take good care of him, don't you?"

Bowser said nothing.

"Sir, no! Don't listen to her!" Kamek begged, now scared for his life. "Look, please consider, if you send me off with them, who's going to help you run the kingdom?"

"Well, you have Kammy, don't you?" Peach asked.

Bowser considered that. "That's true… Kammy could just take over your jobs while you're gone…"

"_WHAT?! _No! You can't do that to me!" Kamek screamed, ignoring Kammy as she burst out laughing at her rival's misfortune. "Look at that psycho! She's worse than all of your children put together!"

Bowser waved him off. "Calm down, Kamek! Maybe Peachy's right… you deserve a little break, doncha?"

* * *

To cut the story a bit shorter, the argument went on for quite some time, but Peach eventually won the Koopa King over, which is how Kamek wound up in Peach's plane, his head in his hands, listening to Livi rant on and on about her plans for the next few weeks.

"I still can't believe you got away with this…" Luigi said, sitting down on the floor beside Livi.

"I can't either! But, I already told you! I'm _Obsessive Fangirl_! When it comes to my fandoms, I _always _win!!"

"Well, ya never know…" Luigi said, shrugging his shoulders. "You only got Kamek because Peach begged Bowser for you…"

Livi smiled and held up a game case for _Partners in Time_. "And I know were Fawful is! Just two left!"

"Too bad one of those two is Dimentio…" Luigi said, suppressing a shudder as he said the jester's name.

"Oh, yeah… crap…" Livi bit her lip, looking off into space. She eventually shrugged, looking chirpy and happy again. "Oh well, like I said, I always win. I'll think of something."

"Such as?"

"Will you hush up and let me cross that bridge when we get to it?! Oi!" Livi stood up, running to the other side of the plane to find more games to rant about and ignore Luigi.

Luigi sighed, then moved over to sit beside Kamek. "Are you alright?"

"No." Kamek bluntly replied, not looking up.

Luigi bit his lip, looking uncertain, then put an arm around Kamek's shoulders. "Hey, it's alright… Livi's not so bad once you get used to her…"

"I don't believe you."

"Well, look…" Luigi took a deep breath before going on. "I'll take care of you, okay?"

Kamek thought about that a while, then looked up at Luigi. He looked, quite honestly, scared. "Really? You mean that?"

Luigi shrugged. "Sure, why not? We're on the same team now, at least for the time being…" Luigi tightened his grip. "I won't let anything happen to you, okay?"

Kamek smiled, breathing a heavy sigh of relief. "Thanks, Luigi…"

The hero just smiled. "No problem, Kamek…"

-----------------

_I think I fail at Wendy, too… sorry, guys, I haven't played many Koopaling games._

_Um… hey, on another note… does anyone recall what happened to Daisy? I looked and looked and I simply could NOT find it in the old version… it's like she just… disappeared… and suddenly she simply isn't there…_

_If anyone can find the scene where it was explained, or can quote it back to me if I've already replaced it, I'll, uh… draw a request for ya on my DA, okay? How does that sound?_

_And, yeah, sorry this one's really long… it's just… I dunno… It's mainly because the cannons scene was supposed to be on the last chapter, and I'm about 98% sure I made up the hallway scene off the top of my head. Oh well…_


	6. Fandom Number 3

Livi was very quickly turning into a very large problem.

It had been a rather peaceful ride in the plane on the way back to the castle, Mario and Peach keeping to themselves up front. Luigi and Kamek had quickly taken to each other, finding it much easier to talk to each other than to tolerate Livi's nonstop chattering. So, they had wound up pretending to listen to her ranting, tuning her out completely (she didn't notice) and talked to each other about nothing in particular for the majority of the trip.

But, of course, such peaceful occurrences could never last with Livi around.

As soon as the plane doors opened, Livi was gone. Luigi chased after her (Kamek having no choice but to follow), but the fangirl disappeared down an indoor pipe. After the other two jumped down, finding the pipe to lead to the castle sewers, Livi had already disappeared entirely.

Luigi and Kamek had been wandering around the sewers for quite a while, calling out for the troublesome young fangirl. Unfortunately, there had been no sign of her yet.

"Luigi…" Kamek moaned, leaning against the wall. "This is getting ridiculous… we've been down here for hours!"

"Well, we have to keep looking…" Luigi said. "We can't leave Livi alone down here… she might stumble into the warp zone."

"What if she's not even down here anymore? How do we know she didn't already go back upstairs?"

Suddenly, a loud scream sounded from another part of the sewers, not very far from where they were. Luigi smirked at Kamek. "That's how."

The two ran off down the corridors, following the screams as they continued to ring out, echoing off the hallways. Once, and only once, they saw a glimpse of the fangirl as she disappeared into a dead-end hallway. Luigi, knowing there was no way for her to escape, signaled to Kamek to slow down. The two ran in, much slower now, Luigi planning to catch Livi by surprise and drag her upstairs (which, he later explained, was really the only way of reasoning with her).

Suddenly, there was another scream, this one much louder, followed by a heavy thump, and Livi screaming out "Gotcha!!"

Luigi and Kamek exchanged a very confused glance, then crept around the last corner. At the end of the hallway, Livi was sitting on her knees on the floor, pinning something to the ground. All that was visible was a bright red cloak.

Luigi ran over to Livi, Kamek nervously following. "Livi? Are you alright?"

"What is that?" Kamek asked, gripping his wand firmly in reassurance.

Livi turned around, though still pinning the squirming cloak to the ground, and smiled ecstatically. "Oh, hey, guys! Omygosh, look who I found!!"

Before either Luigi or Kamek could say anything, Livi yanked the thing off the ground, grabbing it before it could get away. She hooked one arm firmly around its neck to hold it still, then grabbed the hood of the cloak (making it scream out in protest) and yanked it off. Luigi gasped in surprised, taking a reflexive step back.

"Fa… Fawful?" Luigi whispered.

The sewer-dweller was, indeed, the young bean. He struggled against Livi's grip, glaring up at Luigi from behind his thick glasses, though unable to say anything for Livi nearly suffocating him.

"Wait a minute… Livi, who is this?" Kamek asked, thoroughly confused at Luigi's obvious discomfort, and Livi's ecstatic smile.

Livi's death-grip turned to a tight hug as she pulled Fawful closer. "Kamek, this is Fawful… Fandom Number 3…"

* * *

A short while later, back upstairs in Livi's room, Luigi and Kamek were busy playing a video game together, trying to ignore Livi and Fawful. The two kids were currently rolling across the bed in a fist-fight, Fawful trying desperately to get away as Livi tried to figure out a way to keep him still. It was quickly becoming obvious that if she wanted his help in her journey, she was going to have to practically hold him prisoner.

The gamers jumped slightly at a loud thump, noticing Livi and Fawful had rolled off the bed and onto the floor. Fawful tried to run, but Livi grabbed the back of his cloak, yanking him back and nearly choking him, and the two were instantly at it again.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Kamek asked, cringing as they rolled past.

"Nah…" Luigi waved him off, not looking the least bit worried. "Fawful's harmless… he doesn't have any of his weapons with him, so he shouldn't be able to hurt Livi…"

"And what about the fangirl?" Kamek asked, watching them closely now, distracted from the game. Fawful had given up on running, now more focused on winning the fight. "Do you think she could hurt Fawful?"

Luigi laughed. "You're kidding, right? Clearly, you've never seen Livi fight…"

"I take she's no good?" Kamek turned back around to face Luigi now.

"No good?" Luigi lowered his voice, not wanting Livi to hear, though he was still smiling. "She's pathetic. She couldn't stomp a Goomba to save her life…"

Kamek laughed. "That bad, huh?"

"OW!!" Livi suddenly shrieked. Kamek and Luigi whipped around just in time to see Livi throw Fawful down on the ground. He shrieked in pain, groaning as he rubbed his sore head.

Luigi jumped up and yanked Livi back, his arms around her waist, before she could hit Fawful again. "Hey! Livi, calm down!"

"Don't tell me to calm down!!" Livi shrieked, still trying to grab Fawful, who backed away nervously until his back was against the wall.

"Livi, stop, you're going to seriously hurt him!"

"Heck yeah, I am!! That little freak bit me! Lookit!" With that, she stopped struggling, shoving her hand in Luigi's face. Indeed, there was a bright red bite mark on the back of her hand.

"What was I _supposed _to be doing?! She tried to have _killing _of me!!" Fawful screamed in protest.

Livi instantly forgot her previous troubles, squealing with delight. This was the first time since they had met—hours ago—that Fawful had spoken a single word. Luigi rolled his eyes at Livi, relieved she was feeling a tad less homicidal, while Kamek stared at Fawful, mouth hanging slightly open.

Fawful noticed Kamek staring at him, raising an eyebrow, and not looking very happy. "Whating?!" He finally snapped.

Kamek shook his head slightly, looking like he was thinking carefully, then turned around to Luigi and asked. "_What _did he say?"

Livi screamed again, running over to glomp Fawful, much to his displeasure. He started screaming at her in his broken English, trying desperately to squirm free, but to no avail.

Luigi ignored them, taking a seat on the bed, looking down at Kamek, who was still sitting on the floor. "Fawful speaks kinda… off…"

"I gathered… why is that?" Kamek asked, watching Livi swing Fawful around the room as she started ranting.

Luigi shrugged. "We don't know. I suppose he's been like that forever… we don't really know where it came from… Hey, Livi!" he called.

Livi suddenly stopped spinning, turning around to Luigi. She was still holding Fawful firmly around the waist, his arms pinned to his sides. "Yeah?"

"Ask Fawful why he talks like that…" Luigi said, smirking.

"Oh, ha ha ha, that is possessing _hilariousness…_" Fawful sneered, noticing that they had been making fun of his speech patterns.

"NO!!" Livi suddenly shrieked. "Then it won't be a mystery anymore!!"

"But, don't you want to know _why _he talks like that?" Luigi insisted.

Livi thought about that a moment, then she shook her head firmly, closing her eyes and hugging Fawful tighter. "Fawful is Fawful. He is how he is, and he always has been. End of story."

Luigi rolled his eyes. "But, that's no fun at all…" He said, sinking down to the fangirl's level.

"Well, too bad. The same concept goes for Dimentio." Kamek noticed that Luigi cringed a bit when Livi said that name. "Sure, I'd love to know his past, but then that would ruin the mystery, and there's no fun in that at all—OW!!"

Livi suddenly dropped Fawful as he sunk his teeth into her arm again. Livi jumped forward as he tried to run, narrowly missing and striking the ground face-first. Fawful laughed at her stupidity, then ran out the bedroom door.

"No, crap!!" Livi shrieked, looking very panicked. She jumped up, running after him. "Fawful, come back!!"

Luigi watched them go, then turned to Kamek. "So, yes, we know nothing about Fawful."

"I see…" Kamek mused, still trying to sort everything out. "Nothing at all?"

"Well…" Luigi leaned back on his hands, looking up at the ceiling. "We know that he was Cackletta's apprentice… he's from the Beanbean Kingdom… he helped Cackletta steal the Beanstar and Peach's voice to take over the world… and he talks funny. That's about it." The green-clad hero smiled down at the Magikoopa, finding it humorous how Kamek was vexing himself over something as insignificant as Fawful's past.

"Alright then…" Kamek sighed, giving up. All was silent for a while, then Kamek looked back up at Luigi and asked, "Who's Dimentio?"

Again, Kamek noticed the same reaction as before—Luigi cringed when he said the name, this time paling over slightly. "…wh-what?" he finally stammered.

"Who is Dimentio?" Kamek asked plainly. "You're obviously very unnerved to hear the name… who is he? And what is he to you?"

Luigi stared at Kamek a moment, then shook his head, looking away. "It doesn't matter…" he mumbled quietly. "It's all in the past… He doesn't matter anymore…"

Kamek noticed Luigi didn't seem to be talking to him anymore; more like he was attempting to re-assure himself. Sighing in defeat, the Magikoopa decided it would be best not to press the matter for now, but made a mental note to come back to it later—maybe even ask Livi if Luigi wouldn't talk.

Suddenly, the tension in the air was shattered as the fangirl burst back into the room, dragging Fawful with her by the hood of his cloak. She threw him roughly onto the floor, then turned and locked the door before he could get back up. As soon as he did get up, she seized him again, holding him tightly by the hood (which proved surprisingly effective for avoiding bites).

"So, what we talkin' 'bout?" Livi chirped, trying to hold Fawful still.

"Superstar Saga." Luigi lied, before Kamek had a chance to say anything.

"Omigosh, I love that game!" The fangirl squealed as she finally succeeded in scooping Fawful up in a tight hug.

"I know." Luigi said, smiling. He seemed back to normal, forgetting Dimentio for the time being. "You love _every _game we talk about."

"Oh, shut up!" Livi said. She finally gave up on holding Fawful still, instead simply throwing him back on the bed. Luigi got up and sat back down on the floor beside Kamek as Livi flopped onto the bed behind him.

Fawful quickly untangled himself from his cloak, pushing himself up. Livi gave him a warning glare, suddenly looking rather frightening. "You might as well give it up. You're staying, like it or not." She said firmly.

The beanish child considered the situation a moment, then growled under his breath, flopping back down beside Livi, giving up at last. Livi beamed ecstatically, realizing she had won, but at the same time, thinking it wasn't the best idea to flaunt a victory over someone as arrogant as Fawful.

"Have you beaten the game yet?" Kamek asked, trying to defend Luigi's case that they were talking about Superstar Saga. He noticed the hero shoot him a look of gratitude.

"Nah, I just got past Larry… soon as I can beat short-stuff here—" Livi gave Fawful a hard clap on the back, earning her a murderous glare. "—I go to the final battle! Bowletta and the Ghost of Cackletta!"

Fawful glared up at Livi when she brought up the final battle, but rather than arguing with her, he simply sighed and laid his head down on his crossed arms. Kamek thought that was a tad odd, considering how easily provoked he was. "Bowletta?" The Magikoopa inquired.

"Bowser possessed by the ghost of Cackletta." Luigi explained. Kamek saw Fawful bite his lower lip, looking away.

"Do I want to know what that is?" he asked.

"Knowing how much you respect Bowser, probably not."

Kamek smiled, almost amused. "Really now?"

"Omigosh, yes! He—she—it's friggin _creepy_, man!" Livi blurted out. Kamek noticed how she tripped over the gender of the beast, and immediately decided that Luigi was right—he was probably better off not knowing.

"This is possessing stupidness." Fawful suddenly said. Kamek noted that he was still avoiding eye contact. "Is there not something else we can be doing?"

"Oh, uh, lessee…" Livi thought, her eyes rolling up to the ceiling. "Oh! C'mere! I'll show you around the castle!"

Without waiting for a response, Livi jumped off the bed, grabbing Fawful's cloak and pulling him outside with her.

* * *

Luigi and Kamek had gone back to their game soon after the troublesome two had left. However, over three hours had since passed, and they still weren't back. Kamek saw no problem with this—better out bothering the castle toads than bothering them—but Luigi was getting very worried. Just as they were about to decide to go out and look for them, however, the door to the bedroom was suddenly flung open, the fangirl running inside and diving under the covers of her bed.

"Livi?" Luigi asked, surprised. He jumped up and ran over to her, yanking the covers off. "Livi, what happened to you?!"

Livi was staring up at Luigi, her eyes wide with fear, trembling violently as she gasped for breath. The fangirl's ratty brown hair had a few twigs and leaves caught in it, her shirt and jeans torn slightly. She was cut and bleeding in a few places, a few rather nasty scrapes on her hands and cheeks, looking like she had fallen and hit the ground face-first. The thing that puzzled Luigi the most, however, was a large bleeding mark running down her left leg, showing through the ripped denim—it looked almost like something had bitten her.

When Livi didn't say anything, just sat there shivering violently, Luigi sighed and sat down beside her, placing a gentle arm around her shoulders. "Shhh, Livi, it's okay… calm down… just tell me what happened, alright?"

"I… I d-don't…" Livi started to stammer, glancing around nervously. "Th-there was… it was a…"

Before Livi could actually say anything, Fawful entered the room. The fangirl shrieked as loud as she could, diving behind Luigi and covering her head with her arms. The bean, meanwhile, was rolling on the floor, howling with laughter at the sight of her.

"What?" Luigi snapped. "What's so funny?"

"The fangirl of the stupidness! She is possessing the hilarity!!" Fawful said between fits of his insane little giggles.

"That wasn't funny!" Livi shrieked. "You could have killed me!!"

"_Exactly_, I am saying!!" Fawful said, sitting upright to look at Livi. "That was being the _point_, as you have seeing!"

"SHUTTUP!!" Livi screamed.

"Livi, what happened?" Luigi asked again. "I thought you two were just looking around the castle?"

"We _were_!" Livi snapped. "But as soon as we got to the gardens, _he _decided it would be funny to use _this _on me!" The fangirl held up a hollow orb made of see-through red plastic. Upon seeing it, Fawful burst into laughter, Livi going as red as the orb with rage when she saw him do so.

Luigi gently took the orb from her, looking it over. He then gave Livi a very stunned, confused look. "He used a _Pocket Chomp _on you?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yes! I heard it pop open, spun around to see what he was doing, and the biggest friggin Chain Chomp I've ever friggin seen started chasin' me all over the place!"

Luigi gently stroked her hair to calm her down, removing a few stray leaves as he did. "And the scratches and bruises? How did you wind up with them?"

"Well, when I first saw the thing, I started runnin' and I hit that big stone wall out there and got this big knot on mah head and I needed to get away from it so I ran for the hedges and I forgot that they were _spiky, thorny _hedges so I ran straight through 'em and got all these scratches and I slipped on something I think a few stray leaves but anyways I rolled down this stony path and got all these bruises and then I tried to run back to the castle and then the Chain Chomp snuck up behind me and bit me on the leg and I ran back to the castle and thank GOODNESS it didn't follow me inside so I ran up here to come tell you guys that it was after me but don't worry I think it's gone now and… that's it." Livi explained, panting for breath at the end of her tale.

Kamek rolled his eyes. "And here I was worried I was going to miss Morton…"

"Oh, shuttup!" Livi snapped.

Luigi ignored her, smiling at Kamek. "Yeah, she does that a lot."

"I'm starting to pick up on that…" Kamek groaned.

"What is it being?" Fawful asked Livi, raising an eyebrow. The other two noticed that Livi was glaring murderously at him, saying nothing at all.

Finally, after a moment or two, Livi threw herself at Fawful, the beanish child barely dodging with a scream of surprise. They were soon rolling across the floor again, beating each other to death.

Kamek got out of their way, moving to sit on the bed with Luigi. He hugged his knees to his chest, watching both of them closely. "I'm starting to notice a patter with the fangirl…"

"Which is?" Luigi prompted.

"Yelling, spazzing, and violence, but mostly yelling."

Luigi laughed lightly. "Don't worry… you'll get used to it after a while…"

"I see…" Kamek said, still watching Livi and Fawful. Suddenly, he perked up, as if he had just realized something. Turning to face Luigi, he asked, "How long am I going to be held her prisoner?"

"You're not her—" Luigi was about to deny Kamek being forced to stay, then realized that he kind of was. He shrugged offhandedly. "However long she wants you here."

Kamek gave a low groan of disappointment, his head dropping down to his folded arms. Luigi just smiled, wrapping an arm around his shoulders in comfort as continued watching Livi and Fawful fight.

"Are you at least going to tell me who Dimentio is?" Kamek asked quietly, barely looking up.

Luigi didn't look at him. He was silent for a very long time, before whispering to him, "We'll see…"

* * *

_Okay, am I crazy? There's a such thing as a Pocket Chomp, right?_

_Fandom count: 3_

_Left to find: 2_

_Whoo-hoo! This is fun! Isn't this fun?_

_Sorry, guys, I'm trying to keep the updates speedy. We don't have long to go now! :)_


	7. A Little Backstory

"_I am Mr. L!" Luigi proudly proclaimed, giving a low bow to the charming magician. "Master Dimentio… what is your bidding?"_

"_When did this happen?" Princess Peach gasped, completely dumbstruck._

"_When I sent Luigi here, I planted a seed in the fertile soil of his unconsciousness…" The jester happily explained, his twisted smile growing ever-wider. "And now, that seed has sprouted spectacularly!"_

_Dimentio ignored the heroes as they started to beg and plead Luigi to snap out of it. He simply drifted his hands over the throbbing heart, then, lifting his hands up in the air, the heart pulled itself up so it floated over his head, resting between his gloved hands. "Mr. L…" He called to Luigi, who instantly straightened up. "Run along now and get ready for your big entrance."_

_Luigi bowed again, and started to jump up the many platforms in the meeting room, completely ignoring his forgotten friends as they called out to him. _

"_Now… Ladies and Gentlemen…" Dimentio began in a loud voice, floating up higher and carrying the Chaos Heart with him. "Get ready for the greatest magic show you'll ever see!"_

* * *

"So… that's it?" Kamek asked in disbelief. "He just… betrayed everyone? He hypnotized you?"

"Yup." Luigi said flatly, looking very grim as he pressed the buttons as fast as he could. "He turned me into a monster—literally—and he forced me to hurt my friends… I had no idea what I was doing…"

"Well, then it's not your fault." Kamek said sympathetically.

He was starting to get why Luigi had tried to dodge explaining who exactly this warped little jester was. With no better way to tell the horrible tale of Dimentio, Luigi and Kamek were now lying on their stomachs on Livi's bed, Kamek watching intently and analyzing the characters as Luigi played through rather quickly. They had been doing this since early this morning. After only one afternoon with him, Livi had grown tired of Fawful and now started her rantings on her _favorite _character, the Charming Magician, which had finally peaked Kamek's curiosity.

"Do you remember what it was like?" The Magikoopa asked.

Luigi shook his head. "Thankfully, he at least spared me of that. He snapped his fingers, I got one hell of a headache, then… nothing. The next thing I remember is waking up to see the others, and Dimentio was already gone."

"Gone?" Kamek turned to face Luigi. "What do you mean? Did he just disappear?"

"He died. Thank Grambi." Luigi said flatly, not looking away from the screen.

"He died?" Kamek questioned. "How?"

Luigi started mashing the buttons quicker. "If everyone would friggin _shut up_, I could start the battle and show you… basically, after you beat the monster, Dimentio gives up his life so the Chaos Heart can live long enough to finish the void."

"Then how did you stop it?"

"It's complicated. Just watch."

Kamek sighed, laying his head back on his folded arms. Luigi had taken on an extremely sour mood for the entirety of the game, which was, of course, putting Kamek in a bad mood. He felt a little guilty dragging up all of Luigi's worst memories, but he had to figure all this mess out, and this was the only way he knew how.

"Wait a minute…" Kamek mumbled, a thought suddenly occurring to him. "Isn't Livi _obsessed _with Dimentio… like, more so than the rest of us?"

"Yeah, he's her favorite… Grambi knows why." Luigi said, not turning to look at him.

Kamek looked over at Luigi. "So, he's in the top five, right?" Luigi nodded, and Kamek continued. "Well, if he's dead, how does she expect us to go find him?"

Suddenly, the noisy chaos of the battle and _The Ultimate Show _music came to an abrupt halt as Luigi paused the game. He sighed heavily, staring down at the floor, his hands trembling slightly. "Dimentio… _was _dead."

Kamek seemed stunned. "What do you mean?"

Luigi finally turned to face him, his eyes clouded with grief and fear. "He's back. He's been living at Castle Bleck with the others for the past four months."

Kamek's jaw dropped slightly. "Are you kidding me?!"

"I wish I was…" Luigi sighed. "He spent about six months down in Bonechill's Prison, then suddenly… he's just… back…"

The tense conversation was suddenly interrupted as the bedroom door slammed open. Livi ran inside, yelling at Fawful, who was looking very pleased with himself as he shut the door, following her inside. Both of them were soaking wet, as it had been raining for the past few hours.

Luigi looked stunned to see them come in. "Have you two been _outside _this whole time?"

"Yes!" Livi snapped. "We got lost in Peach's stupid garden maze because _somebody_—" here, she cast an angry glare at Fawful. "—was bein' a _jerk _and wouldn't tell me how to get back to the friggin castle!"

Kamek waved his wand, two towels suddenly appearing in front of him. He handed one to Luigi as he jumped off the bed to take care of Livi, and carelessly tossed the other one to Fawful. Luigi and Kamek had quickly picked up on the fact that Fawful wanted nothing to do with anyone, but that never stopped Livi from dragging him around like her personal plaything.

"I don't believe you!" Livi continued screaming at Fawful as Luigi made her sit down. "It's, like, below-freezing out there! I could have frozen to death!"

"Good! Then maybe you will _finally _be shutting your stupid mouth, which is _always _possessing the non-stop talkings!" Fawful snapped back.

"Okay, _you _have _no _right to lecture _anyone _on how to talk, okay?!" Livi yelled.

"What is that supposed to be meaning?!" Fawful snapped, suddenly looking very mad.

"It means you talk like a weirdo!" Livi yelled. Sarcastically smiling, she continued with, "Oh, yeah, and thanks for pushing me off the balcony!!"

Fawful grinned ecstatically. "Of coursing, you are being most the welcomes!"

"Guys, stop it!" Luigi finally interrupted. "Can you please at least _pretend _to be mature?"

"I am mature!" Both children shouted indignantly.

Luigi breathed a heavy sigh, then went back to wringing out Livi's hair. "I swear…" He mumbled under his breath. "To think I'm taking you to Castle Bleck…"

"What?!" Livi yelled, whipping around to interrupt her glaring contest with Fawful. "We're going to Castle Bleck again?! YES!!" Livi jumped up, screaming her lungs out yet again.

"Again?" Kamek asked over Livi's ranting. "You've been before?"

"Yes! It's awesome! It looks all dark and creepy and scary—it's JUST like the game! It's A-MA-ZING!" She yelled, waving her hands around spastically for emphasis.

Kamek raised an eyebrow to Luigi. "She doesn't know?"

Livi suddenly stopped spazzing (for once in her life) and looked around, utterly confused. "Doesn't know what?"

Luigi sighed. "No, Kamek, she doesn't know… The last time she was here was about six or seven months ago…"

"Yeah, and it's really annoying! Because, that's, like, a whole _year_ in my world!" Livi shouted, stomping her foot.

"Well?" Kamek prompted, gesturing to Livi. "Are you going to tell her?"

Luigi looked down at the floor, breathing a bit shakily now.

"Weegee? Whassa matter?" Livi asked, walking over to stand beside him. "Tell me what?"

There was a long silence, then Luigi said quietly, "Dimentio's alive."

Livi looked stunned for a moment, as any fangirl would be, should they be given such information. Then, she started to smile, narrowing her eyes. "Alright, alright, very funny…" She said, laughing a bit. "Pick on the fangirl… I get it…"

"Livi, I'm serious." Luigi said flatly, looking Livi in the eyes. "Dimentio's alive. He's been living at Castle Bleck for the past four months."

Livi blinked twice. "Wh… what? He's back? He's _back_?! My Charming Magician's alive, and _you didn't tell me_?!" Livi's voice grew louder and louder as she spoke.

"Livi, I'm sorry…" Luigi said. "I was kind of hoping you wouldn't find out."

"Not find out?!" Livi shrieked. "We go to Castle Bleck all the time!! How long did you think you could keep him hidden from me?!"

"Well, he may not even be here that long!" Luigi said, trying to defend himself.

Livi's eyes went wide with shock. "What? What do you mean? He's alive, isn't—"

"_Conditionally_, yes, he's alive… He's struck a deal with Jaydes… Nastasia explained all of this to us when we first found out he was back."

"He… struck a deal… with Jaydes?" Livi looked like she was trying to figure this out, but only succeeded in getting herself more lost.

Luigi sighed, then placed a hand on her shoulder and lead her over to the bed. "Here… I'll explain it to you… okay?"

* * *

_"__WHAT? A second chance? You've got to be kidding me!" Nastasia was over-flowing with anger as she spoke. She stood in an extremely dark room, the only light source being a misty orb in the center of the room, replaying Dimentio's trail of destruction over and over and over…_

_Queen Jaydes stood on the opposite side of the orb, and the jester himself stood right behind the Queen, just out of the light's comforting reach, as if he feared to come into contact with something so pure. He floated to peer over Jaydes' shoulder, watching his past life replay with interest, but the usual sadistic smile was absent from his face._

_Queen Jaydes had just explained her plans to Nastasia, news she did not expect the secretary to take lightly. "Nastasia, please, calm yourself. You are over-reacting."_

"_Over-reacting?!" Nastasia yelled. "Are you insane?! Look at this!" She flicked a hand out at the orb, making Dimentio flinch a bit further into the shadows. "Look at everything he's done! Look at who he was—who he still is!! How could you even think of sending him back?!"_

"_The man you met today in my realm is not the same man that betrayed you." Jaydes explained calmly. "Dimentio has changed his ways."_

"_Changed his ways?" Nastasia repeated with a disgusted look on her face. "I'd sooner believe a Goomba sprouted arms than Dimentio change anything!"_

_Dimentio hung his head at that comment, slowly floating backwards away from them._

"_Now, now, Nastasia… I've been monitoring Dimentio carefully while he dwelled in Bonechill's Prison. There has been a significant change in his thinking patterns. He wants to fix everything, to right all of his wrongs."_

"_He doesn't want to fix anything, he wants __**out**__!" Nastasia yelled._

_Jaydes shook her head. "He honestly craves redemption."_

"_He's insane." Nastasia said flatly._

"_Not anymore." Jaydes explained, casting a pitying glance over to her shoulder to the jester sulking in the corner. "My D-Men in Bonechill's Prison have rather effective torture methods for the condemned souls there… of course, with such a violent mental instability, Dimentio could simply laugh everything off… so, they came up with the ultimate torture for our charming magician…"_

_Nastasia stared at Dimentio, mouth agape. "They restored his sanity?" She whispered._

"_That is correct." Jaydes said. "He's more mentally sound than before you met him."_

"_Oh…" Nastasia said, still looking stunned. She shook it off, glaring at Jaydes again. "So, uh… what about this… 'redemption' thing, huh? You're just gonna, ya know, let him off the hook?"_

"_I am giving Dimentio a __**chance **__at redemption." She clarified, loud enough to make Dimentio cringe. "Not redemption. He must earn his place back in the world."_

"_And how does he, uh, do that?" Nastasia prompted._

"_After I send him back…" Jaydes started to explain. "I will send two people. The first, a savior, shall come in a form unexpected… they will attempt to __**correct **__Dimentio, restore him to goodness, just as you, Mimi, and O'Chunks have done amongst yourselves. The second, a destroyer, shall be very familiar to him… they will attempt to __**corrupt **__Dimentio through any means possible, and drag him back into his ways of old."_

"_And… then what?"_

"_Then, I will present Dimentio with a test. He will not expect it in the least, and in a split-second decision, I will determine the course for his life."_

"_Ah, right then…" Nastasia said. She was starting to get a bit uncomfortable. "And you want me to let him back into Castle Bleck?" She asked, cringing a bit when she said her former master's name._

"_Well, my path-determinants cannot find him locked away down here, could they?"_

_Nastasia sighed heavily. "No, I guess not… but, why should I let him, ya know, come back? Who's to say he'll behave any, uh, different from the last time before the savior gets here?"_

"_I have laid a curse on Dimentio…" Jaydes explained. Nastasia noticed Dimentio try to back away, pushing himself against the wall, his face downcast. "I assure you, as long as my curse holds, and it will until he returns for his judgment, he will have __**no **__interest in his old tricks…"_

_Nastasia eyed the jester carefully, still seeming unconvinced._

"_You still doubt me…" Jaydes stated, matter-of-factly._

"_Can you really, uh, blame me?" Nastasia asked._

_Jaydes considered that a moment. Rather than answering Nastasia, however, she turned her head slightly to face the jester. "Dimentio."_

_The jester looked up at her upon being called. Jaydes extended a clawed finger and beckoned him over, turning back to Nastasia. Dimentio causally pushed himself off the wall, and obediently floated over to the Queen, still staring down at the floor._

"_Dimentio…" Jaydes said very gently, as though she was speaking to a child. "Why don't you show Nastasia your little toy, hm?"_

_Dimentio turned his mismatched eyes up to the Queen for a moment, then quickly looked back down, shaking his head._

"_Come on, don't be shy… I'm sure she'd be very interested to see it… don't you think?" Jaydes gently encouraged him._

"_Well?" Nastasia asked him. "Go on… you might as well show me… I'm the only hope you have left at this point." She said, a bit of spite in her voice._

_Dimentio cringed a bit. Then, he slowly reached up into his poncho, pulled something out of his belt, and extended both hands to Nastasia. When he unwound his fingers, Nastasia gasped in surprise, putting a hand to her mouth._

_In his worn-out-gloved hands, the jester held a sparkling, shining, bright red Rubee._

_Nastasia looked from the gem, to Dimentio, then up to Jaydes. "Are you serious?"_

_Jaydes smiled and nodded. "He clings to that little Rubee for dear life, don't you, Dimentio?"_

_Dimentio slowly nodded his head, staring adoringly at his precious jewel._

"_Where did he get that?" Nastasia asked._

"_The D-Men find it humorous to throw them at him." Jaydes explained. "Dimentio somehow managed to catch one, but they quickly found a way to make him drop it and they took it away… I gave this one to him when I pulled him out of the Prison, as a bit of a gift."_

_Nastasia kept staring at the gem. "Why would they use Rubees? Surely there's better ways to torture him?"_

_Jaydes smiled sympathetically at Dimentio. "Would you like to explain that?"_

_Dimentio lifted his eyes from the Rubee to stare at Nastasia, and was quiet for a moment. Then, for the first time since Nastasia had been summoned here, the jester spoke. "They torture me with them… because it reminds me of Mimi…"_

_Nastasia was completely stunned. She said absolutely nothing at all for a very long time, just staring at Dimentio. When she didn't respond, Dimentio ignored her, looking at the Rubee again as he snuggled it close to his chest. A warm smile lit up his face for a moment, confusing the secretary even more._

_Finally, Nastasia turned to Jaydes. "You can't be serious…" She whispered, knowing Dimentio wasn't listening anymore, yet not wanting to risk it._

_Jaydes smiled. "I am perfectly serious. Dimentio has changed. And he can change even more if you will allow him the chance…"_

_Nastasia thought about that, then she turned back to Dimentio, and slowly walked over so she was standing about a foot from him. "Dimentio…" She said softly, to catch his attention._

_Dimentio's smile instantly vanished as he looked up from the Rubee, his expression switching from contentment to confusion. Nastasia looking into his eyes and asked softly, "You really want this… you really want out of here, don't you?"_

_Dimentio thought about that, staring at the floor, then sighed heavily. "Nastasia, __**please**__…" He looked up at her again, his eyes sparkling with mixed emotions. "I just want to go __**home**__…"_

* * *

"Livi's coming, Livi's coming, Livi's coming, Livi's coming!!" Mimi screamed as she skipped and twirled down the hallways.

Nastasia couldn't help but smile, laughing under her breath at the little girl. "You're really, uh, excited, huh, Mimi?"

"Well, _duh_!" Mimi said, running back over to Nastasia and O'Chunks. "She's only, like, my best friend _ever_!"

"Ay, we can tell…" O'Chunks said, laughing a bit to himself. "Yeh two are quite da pair, aren't yeh?"

"Of course!! Oh, golly, I can't wait! When's she gonna be here, huh, Nassy?" Mimi asked loudly, bouncing up and down with excitement.

"Peach said they're, uh, bringing her tomorrow." Nastasia said, smiling. "And, she says Livi's picked up a few new friends."

"Really?!" Mimi said, her eyes twinkling with delight. "Oh, golly, this is going to be great! I can't wait to meet them!! I can't wait 'til she gets here!!! Omigosh, Livi's coming, Livi's coming, Livi's coming!!"

"What's going on?" A quiet voice asked. Everyone suddenly stopped, noticing Dimentio floating in from around the corner, looking very confused.

"Dimmy!" Mimi shrieked, running over to him. "Omigosh, you're never going to believe it!! Guess what, guess what, guess what!!" She yelled, taking his hands in hers and bouncing up and down again.

Dimentio sighed heavily. "Mimi, just tell me… what is it?"

"Livi's coming!!" She yelled again. Dimentio just looked more confused, so Mimi kept screaming. "That girl I told you about! Remember?! That super-cool fangirl! She's all the way from _Real World_!! She fell down a Warp Pipe, and she's played all the games, and she totally _loves _us! We're best friends!"

Dimentio was stunned for a moment at her lengthy explanation, then sighed heavily, looking down at the floor. "Played that silly game has she? Perfect…"

The jester released Mimi's hand, snapping his fingers and teleporting away. Mimi stood there a moment, utterly stunned, her excitement vanishing entirely. "What's wrong with Dimmy?" She asked, turning around to face Nastasia and O'Chunks.

Nastasia knew very well what was troubling Dimentio, but she simply shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno, Mimi… I've told you before, he's insane… no one knows what he's thinking."

Mimi's eyes narrowed into slits as she blushed with rage. "He is _not _insane."

O'Chunks sighed. "Oy, lass, not this again… yeh heard wha da Queen said…"

"Dimentio has to fix everything _as if he never left_…" Nastasia explained flatly. "They gave him his sanity back in Bonechill's Prison, but as soon as he came back…" Here, she paused to shake her head, staring at the ground. "He's insane, Mimi."

"No, he's not!!" She shrieked, stomping her stilt-like legs on the ground. "He's not insane!! He's just… just…"

"Just what?" Nastasia challenged. "You've seen him yourself—all he does anymore is mope around the castle, being all, um, dark and creepy."

"Maybe if you two weren't so _mean _all the time, he wouldn't be like that!" Mimi yelled.

"Mimi, that's enough!" Nastasia snapped.

Mimi stood there a moment, glaring at Nastasia, then quickly spun on her heels and teleported away after Dimentio. The secretary watched her go, then simply sighed, walking off down the corridors and motioning for O'Chunks to follow her.

Mimi arrived in Dimentio's hall of mirrors, the never-ending corridor leading to several parts of the castle at once through the many false mirrors. The little green girl ran over to the right side of the hall, running past each of the mirrors, and watching her reflection closely. Finally, she stopped abruptly when she came to a mirror with no reflection—not a hole in the wall—a glass mirror mounted in the wall that showed no reflection.

Mimi placed a hand in the corner of the mirror, gave it a gentle push, and the glass gave way like a door, leading to small, dark room with a door at the end. She jumped into the mirror frame, closing it behind her, and ran over to the charming magician's room, throwing it open and running inside.

"Dimmy!" she called, instantly spying the jester sitting on his bed, his head in his hands. Mimi jumped up onto the bed beside him, throwing her arms around his shoulders. "What's wrong, Dimmy? Are you okay?"

Dimentio shook his head. "Why is she doing this to me?" he wondered aloud.

"Who?" Mimi asked.

"Jaydes!" The jester said, finally looking at Mimi. "How can she do this to me? Couldn't she cut me a break just _once_? I can't fix anything, I can't _do _anything, I'm just stuck at this stupid castle, Nastasia's little prisoner, dealing with one miserable hell-bent torture after another!"

"Aw, Dimentio…" Mimi moaned, hugging him tighter. "What's wrong now? Did something we said upset you?"

Dimentio sighed. "That fangirl you told me about… you said she's played the games… she knows what I've done… she must hate me… just like everyone else…" the jester's voice grew quieter and quieter as he spoke.

"Hate you?" Mimi asked, smiling. "Dimentio, are you kidding me? She _loves _you!"

Dimentio's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"She loves you!" Mimi chirped. "She thinks you're the coolest thing _ever_! All that bad stuff you did in the game? That's her favorite parts! She thinks you're hilarious, and adorable, and cute and sweet and funny and—"

"Are you serious?" Dimentio interrupted, looking very confused. "She actually likes me?"

"She _adores _you, Dimmy…" Mimi said, smiling sweetly. "Just trust me, okay? I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you…"

Dimentio smiled for a brief moment, hugging Mimi tightly. "I know, Mimi… thank you…"

* * *

_A/N: Hey, guys! Okay, we're ALMOST done with the revisions… I'm really sorry! I know I SHOULDN'T change the next chapter, but I'm going to anyway, okay? Is that okay?_

_It isn't much, really. Then, on all the others, I'm just going to be fixing a few type-os, adding a few things that didn't show up right, and correcting a grammatical error here and there. That's going to run smoothly and quickly, though, and we'll be back to updating before you know it! Sound good?_


	8. Dancing with Dimentio

"This is bad…" Dimentio mumbled under his breath. "This is very, very, very bad…"

The jester was in his room, floating back and forth in front of his large window, nervously wringing his hands. Even his usual carefree smile was absent from his mask, but that wasn't so out-of-the-ordinary. Nowadays, he hardly ever found a good reason to smile…

Today was the worst day of all for something stupid like smiling. That silly fangirl was coming today, and was going to be here in a matter of minutes, as Nastasia had recently informed everyone. That stupid little pest had actually haunted Dimentio's _nightmares _last night, and he hadn't even met her yet!

_That _was not a good sign.

Well, there was nothing he could do about it now, he realized with a sigh. The girl was already on her way here, those foolish heroes coming with her. Once she got here, Nastasia had told him he was to do the girl's bidding, or there would be "serious consequences… 'k?"

"That's it then…" Dimentio sighed, leaning against the wall and slumping down to sit on the floor. "I give up… Jaydes isn't really going to redeem me… this is just another way to torture me…I'm just going to di—"

Suddenly, the jester cringed, clutching a hand to his chest. After a moment, he exhaled heavily, relaxing slightly as the pain subsided. It was his stupid curse again—a painful reminder not to doubt the Queen's power…

Dimentio sat there a moment longer, panting quietly to catch his breath. Then, he heard a noise outside—like a quiet murmur of voices. Curiously, the jester pushed himself up off the wall and floated over to his door, going outside into the extension of hallway that hid his room away from the rest of the castle.

Floating over to the door on the opposite end of the hall, Dimentio placed both hands on it and laid the side of his head up against the cold, black wood. On the other side of this door was a mirror, one of the infinite mirrors in the hallway. He could hear the voices a tad more clearly, echoing in the corridor…

"_So… what's this place?"_

"_Dimentio's hall of mirrors…"_

"_Ah… sounds… dramatic…"_

_A light chuckle from one speaker. "Dramatic?"_

"_Shut up. The fangirl's rubbing off on me…"_

"_Is this where you had fighting the jester of dementedness?"_

"_Um, no… that's a… a few rooms ahead…"_

"_Can we be seeing?"_

_There was a harsh clapping noise—as if one figure had struck another._

"_OW! Whating?! What did I have saying?"_

"_Look, just stop—"_

"_No, it's okay… I'll show you where we…" The person paused to clear their throat. "Where __**I **__fought Dimentio…"_

Dimentio's mismatched eyes widened in shock. Where _I _fought Dimentio? I couldn't be… could it?

The jester snapped his fingers twice. With the first, he was instantly cloaked in invisibility. With the second, he appeared just outside of the mirror he hid behind. He glanced around the hallway for a moment before spying the figures a ways towards the end of the hall, their backs to the invisible jester.

There were three of them, and quite a mismatched bunch (then again, the residents of Castle Bleck weren't much better). There was a young-looking Beanish child with a fringe of black hair, swirling blue glasses, and wearing a tattered, worn-out, red cloak. Walking beside him was a Magikoopa, dressed in blue robes and tightly clutching his wand. He also wore glasses, through which he was giving the Bean a rather nasty look. The third figure, with the jester's dumb, horrible, hell-stricken luck, just so happened to be…

"Luigi…" Dimentio whispered, his eyes going wide with shock.

Suddenly, Luigi stopped walking, turning around and looking very panicked. His eyes flashed over every mirror in the hall, and Dimentio had to look around a bit to reassure himself that he was still invisible.

"What?" The Magikoopa asked, looking concerned. "Is something wrong?"

Luigi shook his head, still glancing around nervously. "Nothing… just thought… I thought I heard something…"

"Is it being the jester of dementedness?!" The Beanish child asked, a wide smile spreading across his face. The Magikoopa slammed his wand into the back of the child's head again.

"No, I don't think so…" Luigi said. For a moment, he looked directly at Dimentio, but quickly looked away again. "I must just be hearing things…"

The Magikoopa started to walk off again. "Well, come on then. We probably shouldn't stay in here anymore if you're hearing voices…"

"I have agreement. This is giving me that which is the creepings…"

"Could you talk like a normal person for _once_?"

"What is being wrong with the way I have speaking?"

Luigi hesitantly started to follow them as they continued arguing down the halls. He paused once to cast a nervous glance over his shoulder again, but quickly shrugged it off and followed the other two outside to the next room.

Dimentio suppressed a heavy shudder, snapped his fingers, and teleported away. If Luigi found him, there was no telling what would happen.

So, without anywhere else to go, confused and panicked, Dimentio found himself wandering the halls, visible once more, calling out frantically for Mimi. He had noticed this since his return—for some odd reason, the jester had found himself unbearably dependent on the little shape-shifting girl.

Suddenly, the jester stopped, floating stunned in the middle of the hall. He heard a noise. A very faint melody was drifting down the corridors of Castle Bleck.

_What could that be? _He wondered. Curiously, and distracted for the present moment, Dimentio floated slowly down the hall, listening intently, trying to locate the source of the noise. He finally found himself floating in front of a large double door; the music seemed to be coming from the other side. The jester stood there, listening to the melody for a moment, then reached out and opened the doors a crack, quickly slipping inside.

Dimentio found himself in the castle's ballroom. In the center of the room were three bright splashes of color that stood out against the blackness. The first was a bright pink stereo, which Dimentio immediately recognized as Mimi's. The second, lying sprawled out on the floor listening to the music, was the little girl herself. The third, sprawled out beside Mimi, humming loudly to the music, was a young human girl, dressed in worn-out jeans and a green shirt, with short, scruffy, brown hair.

"Mimi?" Dimentio said quietly, floating over to the two. Mimi opened her eyes and looked up at the jester. The human ignored them, still humming.

"Dimmy!" Mimi shrieked. "I was lookin' for ya! Did you meet the others yet?"

"Yes, I met the others…" Dimentio hissed through a tight frown. "You didn't tell me _Luigi _was coming!"

Mimi rolled her eyes up to the ceiling, moving her lips slightly with whatever was running through her mind. Finally she looked back over at Dimentio. "No, I'm pretty sure I told ya the heroes were comin'…"

"OMIGOSHIT'SDIMENTIO!!" The argument was suddenly cut off as the human girl bolted upright, her eyes locked on Dimentio and an eager grin spreading across her face. She quickly scrambled up to a standing position and ran over to throw her arms around the very stunned jester. "DIMENTIO!!! OMIGOSH IT'S REALLY YOU!!"

Dimentio floated there a moment, looking down at the girl that had secured herself around his waist, then cast a pleading glance over her head to Mimi. Mimi sighed heavily, as though being interrupted from something of utmost importance, and pushed herself up. She wrapped her stick-like hands around the girl's and slowly pried her off of the jester.

The girl stumbled backwards; still grinning like mad (Dimentio was starting to wonder if _he _used to look that creepy) and Mimi held her steady. The green girl gestured to the human. "Dimmy, this is Livi! She's the fangirl I've been telling you about!"

Dimentio felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. "Oh… this is… the crazy one…"

Livi's face instantly fell to shock, then to rage as she whipped around to face Mimi. "You told him I was crazy?!"

"Well, yeah! You are!"

"Well, don't _tell _him that!! You couldn't have put in a good word for me?!"

"But, you _are _crazy!! What did you want me to say?! That you're a stalker, obsessive, weirdo?"

"I am not!!"

"Yes you are!!"

"I am not—OH! DIMENTIO!!" Livi flung herself at the jester again. "I gotta let you meet the others!!"

"Well, we're not goin' to find 'em!" Mimi said, stomping her foot. "That could take forever! Who knows where they went?!"

Livi waved her off. "Oh, don't worry. I'll get 'em…" With that, she stepped away from Dimentio, switched off the stereo, and ran to the center of the room. She stood there a moment, staring up at the long walls (the ceiling of which was not even visible). Then, she cupped her hands around her mouth and gave a loud shriek, screaming, _**"LUIGI!! KAMEK!!! FAWFUL!!!"**_

Dimentio cast a glance over at Mimi. She simply smiled and held up a hand, as if to say _Wait for it… _The jester was getting an uneasy feeling by this point.

Suddenly, much to Dimentio's surprise, the door was thrown open, the same three-some he had seen before rushing in. "Livi, there you are!" Luigi said, running over to her and hugging her tight. "Don't scare me like that! I thought you were in trouble!"

"Luigi, I'm a fangirl! I'm trouble with feet!" Livi said jokingly, wrapping her arms tightly around him. She suddenly pushed him off, and pulled him over to the jester. "Oh! Lookie who I found!! It's Dimentio!!"

Luigi and Dimentio stared at each other a moment, both looking very stunned. Dimentio could feel the painful curse already pricking at his heart like sharp needles. Something bad was about to happen—he just knew it. Why wasn't Luigi saying anything?

"Say 'hey, Dimentio!'" Livi said to Luigi. The hero simply shifted his gaze down to the floor. Livi took on a very angry expression and clapped him harshly over the head, nearly knocking his cap off. "Say it!" She said firmly.

"Um… h-hey, Dimentio…" Luigi said nervously.

"Dimentio, say hi to Weegee!" Livi chirped. When the jester didn't reply, Livi shot him a harsh glare until the jester quietly murmured a hello.

"Yay, now everyone's all buddy-buddy again!" Livi chirped, clapping her hands and skipping off. "Oh, oh, oh!" She said, running over to the others. She grabbed the Bean by the hood of his cloak and dragged him over to Mimi. "Fawful, this is Mimi. Mimi, this is Fawful! You two should be, like, best friends are something!"

"Why should we have doing _that_?" Fawful asked with disgust, glaring at Livi.

"He talks funny." Mimi said, crinkling her nose up a bit. "Why's he talk like that?"

"Oh, you two are so _cute_!" Livi said, blissfully unaware of the tension. "OH!" She shrieked, running back over to the stereo. "Mimi, we almost forgot my list!!"

"What list?" Mimi asked, cocking her head to one side.

"You know!" Livi said, selecting a new track on the stereo. "My list! Of _things to do before I die_!!"

Mimi still looked confused, not seeing why she would be pointing that out. "Oh, yeah…" She murmured. Then, she looked at Dimentio, and her eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh, yeah!!"

Suddenly, a new song started up, with a flowing, hypnotic melody. It sounded familiar. Had he heard it before? Maybe when Mimi had shown him the game…

"Alright, everyone!" Livi said, jumping up and throwing her hands in the air. "_It's SHOWTIME!!!_"

Yup. He thought so. The girl was playing his battle theme from the game. Dimentio snapped out of the trance of his thoughts when Livi skipped over to him, grabbed his hands, and shrieked, "Dance with me, Dimentio!!"

Dimentio stared at her for a while, looking utterly stunned. "Wh… what?"

"Dance with me! C'mon, it'll be fun!!" Livi said, her ecstatic smile never wavering.

Dimentio considered her odd request for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry, Livi… I don't… I don't feel much like dancing…" With that, he dropped her hands.

The second the fangirl's fingers slipped through his, a harsh, painful jolt of the curse shot through Dimentio's chest, like someone had stuck a knife right through his heart. It took every bit of his will power not to scream out and fall right out of the air.

Livi was staring at him with a pouty expression. "Aw… but… it'll be fun! I've always wanted to have a dance with you!"

Dimentio didn't reply. His hand clenched into a tight fist, trying to ignore the curse as it jabbed harder and harder at his chest.

_**Dance…**_a quiet voice said in the back of his mind.

The jester sighed heavily and held out a hand. "I suppose… one dance… couldn't hurt…" _Not any more than it hurts now… _he thought bitterly.

"Yay!" Livi said, grabbing his hand again and pulling him into the middle of the room. Dimentio gasped aloud when the clasped their hands together.

It was gone.

Suddenly, that horrible pain was simply gone. How? What had done it? Had he done something right?

Looking down, the jester found his answer.

He was holding her hand.

_What does that mean? _The jester thought. His confused thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Livi asked, "Is something wrong?" cocking her head to the side and looking very confused.

Dimentio shook his head. "No, no… of course not…"

Livi brightened up a bit. "Alright then… let's dance!"

With that, the two were twirling in time to the music, Dimentio floating a few inches off the ground and Livi skipping happily after him. The jester held one arm around her waist to keep her close, the fangirl holding onto his shoulder with her free hand. Their opposite hands were clasped tightly together off to the side.

Once, when Dimentio held up a hand to let her twirl like a ballerina, their hands slipped apart for a brief moment. Again, the same thing happened: the painful curse returned, harsher than before. He quickly grabbed her hand again, pulling her in close once more. As soon as they were touching, the pain was gone.

Dimentio couldn't help but wonder if Jaydes was messing with him.

Finally, as the dance ended, the two twirled apart, hands still clasped, and struck a bow to each other on the final note. The moment the track shifted to the next song, Livi flung herself into Dimentio's arms. "That was great! I loved it! Thank you thank you thank you! Omigosh we're going to have so much fun at Peach's Castle!!"

Dimentio's stunned face fell to horror. He quickly pushed Livi off, holding her at arms length. "What did you say?"

"Peach's Castle!" Livi chirped again. "We're gonna have so much fun—you'll love it there!!"

When Dimentio didn't say anything, just floated there, staring at Livi, the fangirl's face fell. She, too, was looking rather confused. "Well, you're coming back with us… right?" She asked.

"Coming back with you?" Dimentio finally questioned. "Why in all the dimensions would I do that?"

"That's why I'm here!" Livi said. "I'm on a quest to gather up all my fandoms! I want them all to hang out with me at the castle!" She explained excitedly, gesturing to the others. "And you're fandom number 4! Didn't Mimi tell you?"

Dimentio whipped around to face Mimi. The little girl thought for a moment, then giggled stupidly, playing with her skirt. "Oh, yeah… did I forget to tell ya that? Nassy says you're goin' home with the fangirl…"

"What?!" Dimentio yelled. "No! No, I can't!" The jester released Livi, ignoring the pricking at his heart. "I'm not going back to your stupid castle!"

"You have to!" Livi said. "C'mon, it'll be fun! You'll love it over there!"

One glance over at Luigi told Dimentio such an experience would be less than enjoyable. However, the curse was jabbing at his heart again, less-than-gently persuading him to reconsider.

"No! I'm not going!" He said firmly. Stab, stab, stab, said the curse.

Livi pouted again. "Aw, but… Dimentio…" She reached out and took his hand firmly again, silencing the curse. "Please? I promise, we won't hurt you… we won't do anything, alright?"

_**Go… **_The same voice as before said…

* * *

And so, against his better judgment, Dimentio did as the voice instructed; which is how he wound up sitting in Peach's plane, staring out the window at Castle Bleck, waiting for Livi to say good-bye to Mimi so he could be torn away from his home. Two of the other fandoms were also in the plane; the Magikoopa and the Bean.

"I'm sorry…" Dimentio said, turning slightly to face them. "But, I don't believe I caught your names before…"

"I'm Kamek." The Magikoopa said. He was sitting on the floor, reclined up against the couch and absentmindedly playing with his fire magic. "That's Fawful."

Dimentio turned to the Beanish child, who was sitting on the floor across the room, looking through a large, pink chest. "Fawful, is it? What are you doing?"

"Trying to find a way with which to be killing the fangirl of obsessions…" Fawful said matter-of-factly, as though it should have been obvious.

"Will you give it a rest?" Kamek asked, not looking up. "What good is it going to do you to kill her?"

"I will be able to be going _home_! Perhaps your stupid brain had the forgetting, but she was _kidnapping _the one who is me!"

"Well, if you don't want to get kidnapped, maybe you should learn how to fight…"

Fawful's cheeks turned red with rage. "I CAN have the fighting! I just… I was not possessing any of my weapons!"

"Mm-hmm…" Kamek said. "I'm sure that's it."

"Oh, have shutting of upness! No one was asking you!"

Kamek just laughed to himself and went back to playing with the small flame.

Mario, Peach, and Luigi picked that moment to enter the plane, having bid farewell to the others. The first two headed up to the front of the plane, while Luigi walked over and lightly kicked Kamek. "Quit playing with that. You're going to set the plane on fire."

"Oh, and wouldn't _that _be being _such _the shamings…" Fawful said, rolling his eyes.

Kamek ignored Fawful, but snuffed out the flame anyway. "Are you alright?" He asked Luigi.

The green-clad hero plopped down beside him. "Fine."

Kamek turned to the jester. "Dimentio, you'll have to excuse Luigi. He likes to lie about crap like this, and for some reason, he thinks we believe him."

Luigi hit Kamek's shoulder roughly. "Stop that."

"Well, stop acting like that." Kamek said, rubbing his arm. "If Livi comes in here and finds you sulking like that—"

"Oh, Grambi, then we will _never _be hearing the endings of it!" Fawful moaned dramatically. "She will have the ranting and that which is spazzing for hours and hours…"

"Stop complaining…" Luigi said. "You'll get used to her eventually…" At that moment, he noticed that Fawful was still looking through the chest. "What are you doing?"

"He's trying to kill Livi." Kamek said. "I think he's looking for a weapon or something."

Dimentio cut in. "Fawful. We're _in _the _Void_. You don't need a weapon."

Fawful straightened up to face the jester. "Whating?"

Dimentio smiled slightly, motioning with his hands. "Just, push her. You fall in the Void, there's no coming out." He felt a painful stab as payment for that suggestion.

Fawful's face lit up, and his was outside the plane before anyone could say anything.

Luigi glared at the jester. "Thanks, Dimentio." He spat sarcastically.

Kamek thumped his arm. "Be nice, he didn't mean anything."

At that moment, they were interrupted by a loud scream, and Livi suddenly rushed inside, flinging herself into Luigi's arms. "Omigosh, Weegee! Fawful tried to push me in the Void!! I almost fell and everything!! I would have if Mimi didn't catch me!!"

Fawful came back in, laughing hysterically. The door started to close behind him. "You are possessing so much of the stupidness!"

"Shuttup! That's not funny!!" Livi yelled. She suddenly stopped screaming, noticing Dimentio sulking across the room. He was slumped down on the bench, looking very depressed. Livi immediately whipped around and smacked Luigi upside the head. "Are you picking on Dimentio?!"

"What?!" Luigi asked, stunned. "No! He started it!"

"He didn't do anything!" Livi said, utterly confident that Dimentio was innocent.

"Yes, he did! He's the one that told Fawful to push you!" Luigi said.

Livi just smacked him again. "Say you're sorry!" She snapped.

"_What_?!" Luigi asked. Another smack.

"Say it!" Livi commanded, glaring daggers at him.

Luigi said nothing, then Livi raised her hand again, and he gave up. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry, Dimentio!!"

Dimentio perked up a bit.

"Good." Livi said. "Now, I don't want you picking on poor little Dimentio anymore…" She said, running over to the jester, stumbling a bit as the plane started to take off into the Void.

"What?! 'Poor little Dimentio'?! Are you crazy?!" Luigi yelled.

"You bet!" Livi chirped. She threw her arms around Dimentio's shoulders. "Don't worry, Dimentio, it's okay… I won't let those bullies pick on you anymore…"

"What did I do?" Kamek asked indignantly. Luigi just groaned heavily and flopped back against the couch.

"Welling then…" Fawful sneered at Livi. "I see we are now knowing who the _favorite _fandom is being…"

"I don't have a favorite!" Livi shrieked. However, she was reflexively hugging Dimentio tighter when she said it.

Fawful rolled his eyes. "Of _coursing _you do not posses a favorite…"

Livi growled, glaring daggers at Fawful, then quite suddenly, she threw herself off of Dimentio and into Fawful. Instantly the two were rolling across the floor, beating each other to death by any means possible. Luigi and Kamek ignored them, talking between themselves about one thing or another. The only acknowledgement they made to the fighters was climbing up to sit on the couch to give them more fighting room.

Dimentio smiled ever-so-slightly, reclining back against the wall. Maybe staying with this fangirl wouldn't be _so _bad after all…

* * *

_And, believe it or not, there's still changes to be made…_

_I'm so sorry! I'm honestly trying to stop, but I just liked this version so much better! I think I got a little rambly, though, because there's still one more scene I need to do. Don't worry, I'm just going to tack it onto the beginning of the next chapter (because things are NOT allowed to go smoothly for Dimentio in this fic!) and then we'll be back to the normal stuff._

_After I post the next chapter, I'll go through and edit a few type-os and mistakes in the rest of the chapters, which should run very quickly, then we'll be back to UPDATES!!! Sounds fun, right?!_

_I'm really sorry guys. I'm trying to make it go quickly as possible. I'll be back soon, don't worry!_


	9. A Twist of Fate

It was already getting late when Peach's plane landed roughly on the runway. It was a rather rough landing, jostling the furniture around violently. The fangirl, of course, _loved _this, so when the heroes, fandoms, and fangirl all finally arrived at Mushroom Castle, Livi was _still _ranting about it.

"…wasn't it just the coolest thing ever?!" Livi was screaming. "I _always _wanted that to happen! Didn't I, Weegee?" Here, she elbowed his arm roughly.

Luigi sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Yes, Livi… you've told us eight times now…"

"I know, but it was just so cool!" She screamed.

"Not _that _cool…" Kamek grumbled, glaring at Livi.

Fawful tugged on Luigi's sleeve and whispered, "You are _sure _I cannot have killing of her?"

"I heard that!" Livi said, whipping around to glare at Fawful. She then grabbed Dimentio, making him yelp in surprise, and ducked behind him. "You can't kill me if Dimentio's protecting me, right?!"

Luigi rolled his eyes. "Right, because Dimentio would protect anyone…"

Dimentio looked stunned for a moment, then forced himself to smile and shrugged. "Who knows? I just might protect the little fangirl…"

Livi threw her arms tighter around the jester. "Aw, see?! Dimentio is changing! He totally loves me!"

"Ah ha ha ha…" Dimentio laughed nervously. "Let's not get carried away now…"

"Aw, you're mean." Livi said flatly. "You won't protect me—KAMEK!!"

The fangirl launched off of Dimentio and slammed into the Magikoopa, who, being caught off-guard, tumbled down to the ground with Livi on top of him.

"Yay!" The fangirl screamed. "That was fun!"

Kamek sighed, rolling his eyes. Luigi pulled Livi off of him, and took his hand to help him up. Livi stared at them a moment, then screamed her head off and threw her arms around Luigi. "Omigosh you two are such cute friends!!"

Luigi and Kamek stared at Livi, then at each other, then back at Livi. "What?" They said at the same time.

"You two are such cute friends!" The fangirl repeated, stepping back from Luigi. Suddenly, her attention snapped away as she realized they had reached the castle. "Oh, we're here!"

Livi ran up ahead, catching Dimentio by his poncho on her way and dragging him with her. Other than a short choking noise with her first yank, he made no effort to resist her. Fawful perked up slightly, then got a devious smirk (apparently making up his mind that he was going to kill her again) and took off after them.

Luigi and Kamek were left standing on the same spot, still looking rather stunned as they watched the others run off. They stood there a moment, neither saying anything, until Kamek broke the silence.

"She's right, you know…" He quietly murmured.

"Hm?" Luigi turned to face Kamek, snapping out of his daze. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean…" Kamek sighed. "She's right. We've become friends… haven't we?"

Luigi looked away and shrugged. "I dunno… maybe…"

Kamek sighed again, running a hand over his face.

Luigi bit his lip, looking uncomfortable. "Well… that's not… it's not such a _bad _thing, is it?"

"Yes, it's a bad thing!" Kamek snapped. "We're supposed to be _enemies_! We have been since you and Mario were _babies_!"

Luigi was silent for a moment. "…but… we're not… we're not enemies _here_… or, we don't _have _to be, at least." He said slowly.

Kamek turned to face him, looking confused. "What?"

"Well… I don't know if you've noticed… but with Livi around… there is no 'heroes and villains'… there's no 'good and evil' or 'light and dark'… As long as you're here… maybe we _could _be friends…"

Kamek thought about that for a while, staring off into the distance. Finally he turned back to Luigi and smiled slightly. "Would you be alright with that?"

Luigi shrugged, smiling a bit to himself. "Even if I wasn't, it's a little too late now…"

Kamek sighed, though he was still smiling. "I guess that's a good point… So, we'll just have to stay friends for now and… see what happens…"

* * *

As much as she would have loved to hear the conversation between Luigi and Kamek, Livi was already running over the bridge to the castle, still pulling Dimentio behind her with a tight grip on his poncho. "Omigosh, Dimentio, this is going to be great isn't it?!"

Dimentio sighed heavily as he floated after her. This was the tenth time since the airport that he'd been asked that. "Yes, Livi, I'm sure it will…"

"It _will _be great!" Livi said. She stopped abruptly, whipping around to face Dimentio. If he hadn't been paying attention, he would have run right into her. "It's going to be so much fun! You can stay in my room with me and Fawful! Mario moved down to Peach's end of the castle when we started gettin' crazy, so Luigi and Kamek are sharing that room down the hall…"

She continued on for a while concerning the rooming situation, but Dimentio really wasn't listening to her anymore. He was staring off to the side, watching the blooper and cheep-cheep swimming around in the moat.

Livi took notice of the fish as well and pulled Dimentio over to the edge of the bridge. She finally let go of him, leaning as far over the railing as she could without falling in, laying on the thick wall so her feet were up in the air. "I love bloopers, don't you? They're just so cute… look at 'em down there… _Bloo-oop! Bloo-oop!_" She mimicked, cupping one hand around the side of her mouth.

Dimentio folded his arms and leaned on the railing beside her, staring down into the crystal-clear waters. "You're a very strange girl…" He mused.

"Aw, thanks!" Livi said, beaming at her reflection.

Dimentio sighed and rolled his eyes. The two stayed like that a moment, leaning over the rail side-by-side, watching the fish swim around in the calm, still waters. Well, the waters _were _calm, until Livi flipped head-over-heels into the moat with a loud splash.

Dimentio jumped back, surprised, and immediately saw Fawful, standing right where Livi had been, doubled over with heavy laughter. Kamek and Luigi came running up at the sound of the splash, both looking panicked.

"What happened?!" Luigi asked. "Where's Livi?!"

Kamek leaned over the rails slightly. "Did you push her in?!"

"Yessing!" Fawful screamed, finally able to breathe. "It was possessing hilariousness! She had no idea I was being here!"

"Fawful, that isn't funny!" Luigi screamed. "She's not coming back up!"

Fawful waved them off. "Oh, do not be worrying. She has had much the worsing—she will be possessing fine-ness."

Kamek stared down harder. "Fawful, Livi _isn't _coming back up…"

Fawful finally turned around. "…whating?"

Luigi searched the water, looking scared and panicked. "Oh no… oh no, no, no…"

Fawful's face fell. "Whating? No!" He ran over and jumped up on the wall as well, looking down into the water. "That stupid fangirl of stupidness! I did not mean to be killing her! I thought she would be possessing alrightness!"

"Well, you thought wrong!" Luigi snapped. "Now she's going to drown!"

Suddenly, there was a light sound from behind them. It sounded like a quick, gentle breeze.

Everyone turned around just in time to see Livi fall right out of the sky and into Dimentio's arms. She immediately clung to him, choking and gasping for breath. Her hair and clothes were dripping wet and stained with blooper ink.

Fawful breathed a heavy sigh of relief, slumping against the wall. Luigi, however, wasn't so thrilled at the rescue.

"What are you doing?" He snapped at Dimentio, taking Livi roughly away from him. "Get away from her!"

Dimentio looked stunned for a moment, but quickly turned angry. "Hey! You could say 'thank you'! I just saved her life!"

"I don't care what you did!" Luigi yelled. "Don't you ever touch her again! You hear me?!"

Livi somehow found the strength to smack Luigi's arm. "Stoppit, Weegee… he was jus… tryin' ta help…" She said between coughs.

"I don't _care _what he was trying to do…" Luigi said, shooting a glare at Dimentio.

"What is the matter with you? I did you a favor! You could at least be thankful, but instead you keep insisting that I've done something wrong!" Dimentio yelled.

Well, since the jester does NO wrong in the fangirl's eyes, Livi had to step in. "He's right, Luigi. Dimentio saved me… don't be so mean…"

"I'm not being mean…" Luigi said angrily. "I've already told you I didn't want you anywhere near him…"

"Well, why not?" Livi asked.

"Because he's a monster!" Luigi yelled. "He's an evil, sadistic demon! He's murdered people, he tried to destroy the worlds, he turned me into a monster! Have you forgotten all of that?!"

"He's not like that anymore!" Livi shrieked, close to tears. "He's changing!"

"Open your eyes, Livi! He _can't _change! He's Dimentio!"

"He could change just fine if you would _let _him!"

"No he can't! I know you want to believe he's sweet and funny and adorable, but he's _not_! It wasn't _anything _like the game! He's evil! Pure, dark, horrible, evil, and that's all he'll _ever _be!"

Livi and Luigi were standing about an inch apart, glaring at each other. Neither said anything for a very long time. Then, suddenly, Livi turned around to Kamek and Fawful.

"You two. Take Dimentio upstairs to my room. Get him settled in, show him the games, talk to him, I don't care, all of you just go away." With that, she turned around, grabbed Luigi's arm, and pulled him away. "_You _are coming with me. _Now_."

As he was dragged off, Luigi cast one final glare over his shoulder at Dimentio. Then, he and Livi disappeared into the gardens.

The jester blindly followed Fawful and Kamek inside, his thoughts tailing elsewhere. He could feel himself sinking into a deep depression at Luigi's remarks. But, the oddest thing was that throughout _his _argument with Luigi, Dimentio hadn't felt the slightest bit of pain from his curse. What could have been the cause of that?

_**Change… is good… **_the voice echoed in his mind. _**Defend… yourself…**_

Dimentio smiled slightly. At least he was doing something right for once…

* * *

Back upstairs in the fangirl's room, after about an hour or so, Livi had just stormed in, still wringing the ink out of her hair (it was now streaked blue in a few spots) grumbling to herself that it would take forever to get out in the shower that night. As soon as she was back in the room, she immediately started yelling and screaming at Fawful. He simply ignored her, with a pleased smirk on his face at the sight of her, which only made her more mad, which made her tackle into the unfortunate young bean and send them both into yet _another _fight.

Luigi then entered the room behind Livi, noticing that she and Fawful were fighting again, but making no attempt to stop them. The green-clad hero instead walked over to Dimentio, who was reclined on the couch, staring out the window. He caught the jester's attention and said, "Sorry I yelled at you… thanks for saving Livi…"

Dimentio looked surprised for a moment, then smiled, relaxing a bit. "You're only saying that because the fangirl told you to."

"Yeah, I am." Luigi said flatly, turning to walk off. "Don't expect it again."

Dimentio watched Luigi walk across the room and flop down on the bed beside Kamek, who was playing a game on the TV while trying to ignore Livi and Fawful. The jester finally turned back to the window, staring outside miserably. He had been with these freaks for three hours, tops, and he was already painfully missing Castle Bleck.

It wasn't so much that he wanted to go home, it was wanting to get away from Luigi. Mario and Peach had also disappeared to the far ends of the castle, and Dimentio couldn't help but wonder if they always stayed so far away from Livi's fandoms or if they were like Luigi; scared of the newest edition to her collection.

Either way, Dimentio was miserable. He was a shell of the man he once was, and most unfortunately, Mario, Peach, and Luigi all assumed he was _still _that same man. Luigi still hated him, yet Dimentio was expected to be on his best behavior, lest he risk the wrath of Queen Jaydes and that silly curse of hers.

_Oh well… _Dimentio thought with a heavy sigh. _At least, in a situation like this, I know it couldn't possibly get any worse…_

Then, as if on cue in a cliché movie, the thunder sounded as the rain fell:

"Omigosh!" Livi shrieked, suddenly springing off of Fawful. "We have to go find Mr. L!!"

There was stunned silence around the room.

"Whating?!" Fawful finally yelled.

"Mr. L!" Livi shrieked again, as if that clarified something. "We have to go find him!"

"And… why would we do that?" Kamek asked.

"Because! He's my final fandom! If we find him, that's everyone! I win!"

"Mr. L is the fifth fandom?" Kamek asked.

"Does that really surprise you?" Luigi asked. "He's an evil version of _me_. Yes, he's a fandom."

_Of course he is… _Dimentio thought bitterly. He was already panicking at the mere thought of seeing Mr. L again, and the painful stabs of his curse certainly weren't helping.

"But, how are we going to find him?" Kamek asked.

"Aren't he and the Fink-rat of Green being the same persons?" Fawful asked, pointing at Luigi.

"Well, not anymore…" Livi said. "After Mr. L's…_death…_" Livi handled the word carefully, casting an anxious glance at Dimentio. "his spirit separated from Weegee's, since he had become his own person in those few weeks. He went down to the Underwhere and, as a Game-Overed soul, he got trapped! Gasp! Then, Dimentio teleported Weegee down there _still alive _so Mario could rescue him so they could both get out and go save all the other little heroes!"

"Well…" Luigi started. "Maybe not… _exactly _like that…"

Livi's face instantly fell. "Whadda ya mean? That's what happened, right?"

Luigi said nothing.

"Well, either way, Mr. L's in the Underwhere, right?"

Again, Luigi said nothing.

"…where is he then?" Livi asked, looking a little unnerved.

Luigi shook his head. "I'll tell you later."

"We don't have time for later!" Livi yelled, switching right back to spaz-mode. "We gotta go find Mr. L _NOW_!!"

"No, Livi." Luigi snapped, pushing himself off the bed. He was obviously still angry from their last fight. "I'm not telling you right now. If you want to know so bad, go ask Mario."

"I'M NOT ASKING STUPID-FACE MARIO TO HELP ME!!" Livi screamed, stomping her foot on the ground. "YOU tell me where he is NOW!!"

"No!" Luigi said, starting towards the door and looking away. "Not now, Livi. Leave me alone."

Luigi reached out for the door handle but just before he could grab it, he was blocked by a clear wall with shifting yellow spots springing up right in front of him. The hero instantly felt panic shoot through him as he placed his both hands on the wall. Looking around, he found his worst fears to be absolutely correct… he was trapped in one of Dimentio's boxes.

Spinning around, Luigi saw Livi throw herself at Dimentio, squealing like crazy. "Omigosh, that was amazing! Way to go, Dimentio!" With that, she left the jester, running over to the box's wall to see Luigi. "Ya see? This is what you get for picking on him! Now, Dimentio's on _my _side, and _you're _the one in trouble!"

Luigi glanced around at the other fandoms. Dimentio had his old, creepy, spine-tingling smile back, though Luigi could see him clawing anxiously at the arm of the couch. Fawful had pulled himself up on the bed beside Kamek, who was shivering slightly, no doubt from the high levels of magic around the room.

Finally, Luigi's gaze returned to the confident-looking fangirl smirking up at him. "Livi, please, don't do this. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Hurt?" Livi threw her head to one side. "How will this hurt me? If I get Mr. L, I _win_, and that's a _good _thing, last I checked. Besides, _you're _the one in the bomb-box, so I wouldn't be worrying about me if I were you." Livi thought about that last sentence for a moment. "Wait, yes I'd worry about me… that didn't make any sense…"

Luigi groaned impatiently and thumped his hand lightly on the wall. "Livi, please!"

"Look, you're the one makin' everything complicated! Why won't you just tell me?!"

"I don't… want you… to get… _hurt_…" Luigi said slowly, knowing he would have to practically beat it into Livi's thick head.

Livi glared at him, poking her lips out like she was scheming. Then, suddenly, she turned around to the jester and said, "Dimentio!" She jerked her head towards Luigi. "Do me a favor and show Weegee we mean business, will ya?"

Dimentio was stunned for a moment, then grinned evilly and snapped his fingers. Now, Luigi could have been imagining things, but he could have _sworn _he saw Dimentio wince in pain just before the explosions began to… well… explode.

When it finally stopped, Luigi found himself lying on the floor of the box. He managed to pull himself into a sitting position as his aching limbs screamed in protest. He looked up at Livi, who was smirking, looking very pleased with herself. "Strike one. Care to try that again?" She asked sweetly.

"You're insane." Luigi spat, glaring up at her as he gasped for breath.

"I _told _you…" Livi said, smiling a bit wider. "I'm _Obsessive Fangirl_… when it comes to my fandoms… I _always _win."

Luigi glared at her. "You're making a mistake."

Livi waved him off, leaning against the box. "Says you. Now why don't you do yourself a favor and just tell me? Just get it over with…"

"No." Luigi said. "Livi, please, I—"

The hero tried to beg her for mercy, but it was too late. With a flick of her wrist in Dimentio's direction, there was another snapping of fingers and the painful bursts of flames erupted from all around Luigi yet again. When it finally stopped, Luigi was lying down on his stomach, hardly able to look up at Livi. When he did, however, she wore a tight frown—she obviously wasn't having fun with this anymore.

"Strike two." She growled. "Let's try this _one more time_… Where… Is… Mr.… L?" She said, very slowly and carefully. Her voice had something dark and sinister in it. Like any other wump-loving fangirl, she was on the fence between getting her answer or hurting Luigi again.

Either way, she got what she wanted. The fangirl always wins.

Luigi sighed, looking down at the ground. He realized how hopeless it really was, so like the coward he was famous to be, he gave in to her. "Alright… you win…"

Livi perked up at that, smiling brightly. "Well? Where is he?"

"When Dimentio… separated us… li-like you said…" Luigi's voice was cracking from his tired lungs. "He d-didn't… go to the Underwhere… like… like you thought…"

Livi looked a tad disappointed, but quickly shook it off. "Okay, fine, so where is he?"

Luigi sighed heavily. "Livi…"

"…yeah?" Livi seemed to key in that something was wrong. She could see it in Luigi's eyes when he turned to look at her. Then, with a deep breath, even though he knew it would hurt her like hell, Luigi delivered the fangirl's fatal blow…

"…Mr. L… doesn't… exist anymore…"


	10. The Mr L Mystery

"Why didn't you just tell her sooner?" Kamek asked again, worry drowning his eyes.

Luigi said nothing for some time, watching as the Magikoopa gently tended to his wounds. "…I didn't want to hurt her." He said again.

Kamek let out a sharp breath, lifting his eyes to Luigi for a brief moment. "She didn't seem to have much trouble hurting you." He snapped.

"It isn't her fault." Luigi said tiredly. It had always been a quick reflex to defend the Fangirl. "She doesn't understand—she treats everything like a game. To her, it's just a matter of how many super 'shrooms it'll take me to be back on my feet."

"That's no excuse." Kamek said irritably, Luigi's exhausted rant reminding him to offer the hero another mushroom, which he gladly accepted. "I have no idea why she thinks she can treat us like this, just because she's a stupid Fangirl…"

Luigi laughed shortly, smiling as he watched Kamek's magic work. "You're such a good nanny." He said.

Kamek immediately glanced up at the comment, his eyes slightly wide in shock. As soon as he saw the sarcastic humor in Luigi's eyes, his gaze flew back down, snarling slightly as a deep blush flooded his cheeks. "…shut up." He mumbled.

"No, it's cute." Luigi continued, now just poking fun at the Magikoopa. "Do you do these things for Bowser? And the Koopalings?"

"Watch it, Luigi." Kamek warned, his eyes glowing dangerously.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed." Luigi said with a shrug, finishing off the mushroom. At least he was starting to feel better. "I pretty much play maid for my bro—cooking, cleaning, care-taking… all me."

Kamek glanced up again. Not entirely surprised, but baffled, at least. "…is that so?" he said at length.

Luigi nodded, standing from his bed. "True story." He assured. He then jerked his head towards the bedroom door. "C'mon, we best go check on Livi… we've left Dimentio and Fawful alone with her for too long."

Kamek sighed tiredly, giving Luigi a very distressed look. "_Must _we?" He whined. Luigi only laughed, grabbing Kamek's hand and hauling him off the bed so they could venture back down the hall to the fangirl's bedroom.

When they got there, Livi had thankfully stopped sobbing her eyes out and screaming hysterically some time ago (though Fawful insisted that she had done so for _hours_). Luigi wasn't too happy to find the others all nestled under the covers of Livi's bed, the Fangirl curled up tightly in Dimentio's arms, sound asleep.

"You got her to _sleep?_" Kamek whispered in disbelief. Though it was already growing very dark outside, with the fit she was throwing earlier, everyone had been certain that she would _never _calm down.

"Ah, not entirely on purpose…" Dimentio said nervously, tossing a glance towards Luigi one could only describe as apologetic. "We turned on one of her movies for her—this is the only one she would calm down enough to say 'yes' to—and before I knew it, she was asleep…"

Luigi stepped around the bed, eyeing Dimentio somewhat scornfully. "…and she just _happened _to wind up like that?"

Dimentio's features twisted slightly, but he seemed too exhausted to look honestly offended, and Kamek seriously doubted he even was. "Well, _I _don't particularly favor the position, if that's what you're implying."

Luigi frowned at the jester, then immediately pulled back the covers slightly and began to slowly unwind Livi's arms from his waist. Dimentio seemed more offended now that he would do such a thing, though he didn't protest being rid of the fangirl. "What movie calmed her down?" He wondered, hoping to store away the information for future reference.

"…ah, _The Lion King_, I believe it was called…" Dimentio said, shifting his gaze away from Luigi. "Fawful and I haven't been paying much attention, though I don't see what peaked her interest… She did say one of the lions reminded her of me—"

"Scar." Luigi supplied without hesitation, not even glancing to Dimentio.

The jester seemed stunned that he so readily knew the villain's name—as if he had long-ago made the connection himself. "…yes…" Dimentio said slowly as Livi was scooped out of his lap and carried over to be set down on the other side of the bed. Luigi tucked her into the covers, and Fawful must have strayed too close, because Livi's fist was immediately tangled in his cloak, and no amount of whining or pulling managed to free him.

"Just stay with her, Fawful—you sleep in here anyway." Luigi whispered, waving the Bean off. He stepped back towards the door then, almost as if forgetting the fangirl entirely. "Watch her while we're gone—Kamek, Dimentio, I wanna talk to you two."

Dimentio was incredibly stunned to be included in the group, knowing already the closeness of the two and their tendencies to remove themselves from the others. However, again, he failed to protest, and rather agreeably floated outside to join them—a gentle closing of the door leaving Fawful and the sleeping Livi alone in the darkness.

Fawful glared at the fangirl, as if blaming her for the entirety of his current troubles (which, granted, she was largely the source of). His glaring, however intense, never seemed to faze her, and she only yawned softly and curled up a bit tighter. Fawful considered briefly slipping out of his cloak and at least moving across the room, but the mere thought of leaving his cloak behind with _her _made him shudder. So, realizing he would not be getting away any time soon, and feeling an odd wave of tiredness slowly begin to creep over him, Fawful hesitantly curled up beside the fangirl, only growling slightly when her arms slid around him.

Other than that small gesture, the fangirl remained still, and it was the most peaceful that any fandom had seen her so far—even with dried streaks of tears running down her face. Finding an odd sense of comfort in the pair's position, and rationalizing that the others surely would not be returning anytime soon, Fawful allowed the sleepiness to take him over and slowly fell asleep.

* * *

Livi jolted awake in blind panic, her hand immediately flying to grab whatever was clamped over her mouth. She found it to be a yellow hand, consisting of long, thin talons, and she sighed in relief, realizing it was Kamek. "What?" She groggily whispered as she shoved his arm aside.

"Shhh…" Kamek hissed softly, helping her up out of bed. "We don't have time to explain—just get up and follow us."

Livi was a bit baffled at 'us' for a moment, before noticing Dimentio gently waking Fawful. The Bean still seemed to be swaying slightly, obviously far from awake. Briefly noting their presence, the fangirl checked the clock by her bed as she slowly pulled herself out from beneath heavy covers. It was precisely 1:47 a.m., though it took her several moments to realize this.

"C'mon, Livi…" Kamek said gently, pulling her along as he opened the bedroom door to the quiet, dark halls. Livi paused suddenly, giving the Magikoopa a very odd, very sleep-deprived look before glancing down at herself. "…'m still in p'jamas…" she mumbled tiredly, noting her black t-shirt and blue pants with the shimmery stars, and recognizing them as attire entirely unfit for midnight adventuring.

Kamek sighed, fighting the incredible urge to roll his eyes. "You look fine, Livi. Let's go." He insisted, and Livi suddenly didn't have much of a choice in being dragged down the halls of Mushroom castle.

"Whe—" Livi tried, pausing to yawn loudly before managing to slur out her question. "Where's Weegee?"

"I'll explain when we get there." Kamek said, and Livi didn't appear to notice that he hadn't exactly answered her. It only took a matter of minutes to get 'there'—and the group arrived in a small storeroom in the castle. In the center of the room stood a bright red door with rainbow trim. Livi immediately recognized it as a dimensional door from Super Paper Mario, even with her mind in the delirious state it was.

She smiled goofily as Kamek went to open the door, snorting out a short laugh. "…my fandoms are kidnapping me." She stated, laughing a bit more. Suddenly, the fangirl sucked in a deep breath, her eyes flying wide—_very _quickly snapping _very _awake. "My fandoms are kidnapping me!" She repeated at a much higher volume.

Dimentio quickly clapped his hands over her mouth, pulling her inside the door, which promptly sealed shut behind them and evaporated into thin air. Livi immediately flipped over to spaz-mode, kicking and flailing around, screaming madly into Dimentio's hands as the jester struggled to keep a grip on her. They were, indeed, standing on Flipside tower before the dimensional doors, and she was, indeed, being held there against her will.

The fangirl only paused in her spazzing when she noticed the white elevator reaching the top of Flipside tower. It was all but impossible to describe the relief that washed over her when Luigi stepped off, and she immediately squirmed out of Dimentio's arms and bolted over to him. "Weegee! Omigosh I thought they were trying to kidnap me!"

Luigi hugged her tight and gave Kamek and Dimentio a look over her shoulder. "I'm sure they didn't mean anything…"

Kamek pointed at Dimentio. Dimentio smiled and laughed nervously.

"Luigi, what's going on?" Livi asked, burying her face in his shirt.

Luigi pulled her off and held her by the shoulders, bending slightly so he could look her in the eyes. "Livi, look… I lied to you, okay?"

Livi still had tears welling up in her eyes as her expression shifted from fear to confusion. "… wha-what?..."

"Mario was getting really worried about you, and so was Peach; so, they told me to lie to you about Mr. L."

"What?"

"Liv, I'm sorry, okay? I really thought you would listen to me and make Mario tell you!"

"Wait, wait, wait… so, what you said about Mr. L… that he doesn't exist-"

"Mr. L's in the Underwhere. He isn't a shayde, but he is down there."

"He is?"

It was then that Livi noticed she had been marched down the row of doors through the conversation, and now stood in front of one colored in a deep, sinister violet. "Why do you think we're down here?" was Luigi's only response.

It took roughly two seconds for the impact to hit, then Livi's face cracked into a wide smile. "We're going to the Underwhere." She declared. At Luigi's nod, she let out a triumphant shriek, throwing her fists in the air. "YES! This is freakin' awesome! We're gonna go save Mr. L!"

"Well, we need to find him first." Luigi reminded, throwing open the door. The inside was composed of some blackness 'dark' and 'scary' would fail to describe, but that didn't stop Livi from gleefully charging head-first into it. She stopped dead as soon as she had, though—breaking right through the dimensional rift and stepping into the icy, gloomy setting of the Underwhere.

Livi shivered violently as chill and fright overtook her, stumbling backwards to be caught in Luigi's arms. "M-mr. L's… d-do-down here?" she stammered out.

"You got it." Luigi confirmed, hugging her tighter as she let out a moan of despair. "Don't worry—we'll all be right here with you."

"Alright, so what do we do now?" Kamek asked, scoping out their immediate surroundings. They appeared to be in a small clearing in the dense, eerie woods.

Dimentio set Fawful on the ground to join the conversation. He seemed very stunned at the sudden change in surroundings (the jester needing to carry the half-asleep child the whole time) but he was obviously alert enough to scare Livi out of her wits and prompt her to chase him around the clearing, because that's exactly what happened. "I do believe we're to be finding our _dear _Mr. L, are we not?" Dimentio chimed musically.

Kamek gave him a pointed look. "Alright. And how do you propose we do that, E. Gadd?" he snapped—not in the hurtful way Luigi would have, but in the no-nonsense way typical of Kamek.

"Maybe we could start at the Palace?" Luigi offered. "I'll bet Jaydes would help us out if we asked her."

Dimentio's breath hitched in his throat when Luigi made the suggestion. It didn't go unmissed, and the hero had nearly turned to confront him when Livi had bounded over to the group (dragging Fawful behind her) and loudly proclaimed "I vote we split up!"

Luigi sighed, Dimentio—thankfully—forgotten. "Hey, Livi, I have an idea. How about we try something the _easy _way for once?"

Livi stared at him for a moment, blinked once, then pointed to herself. "Fangirl." she reminded him.

"Actually, that isn't a bad idea at all…" Dimentio sang, drifting over to place his hands on the fangirl's shoulders. "We could split into two teams and be able to find Mr. L _twice _as fast."

Livi beamed with pride at the comment, quickly throwing her hand that wasn't leashing Fawful in the air. "I call Dimentio and Fawful for my team!" She cried, winking suggestively at Luigi. "You and Kamek can have some alone time."

Kamek rolled his eyes at the statement, and Luigi may have had a similar reaction had he not been eyeing Dimentio somewhat nervously. "Uh, Livi… I don't think that's—"

"SAY, Weegee, can I talk to you for a minute?" Livi interrupted loudly, tossing Fawful aside and dragging Luigi off to a more secluded corner. There, her face instantly melted to a pout as she whispered, "C'mon, I thought you said you were gonna be cool with Dimentio!"

"I know, I know… but…" Luigi cut himself off with a sigh, rubbing his arm nervously.

Livi looked heartbroken. "…but you don't trust him." she knowingly finished.

"No, okay?" Luigi snapped, fighting to keep his voice low. "I _don't _trust you alone in the Underwhere with a demented jester and some insane little kid that's trying to kill you."

"…does it really bother you _that _bad?" Livi asked suddenly. Luigi only nodded, relieved she finally seemed to understand. The fangirl didn't appear happy about it, but she sighed heavily, kicking the dust as she wandered back to the group. "Alright, I'll knock it off…" she whispered to Luigi.

She managed to 'knock it off' for all of four seconds, which was about the time it took the two to rejoin the group. It was precisely then that Livi grabbed Fawful's cloak in one hand, Dimentio's arm in the other, and bolted off into the woods as she screamed over her shoulder "Last one to Mr. L has to deal with Peachy!"

"Livi!" Luigi called after her. "Livi, come back!" If the fangirl even heard him, she made no sign of doing so, already being long-gone in the thick gray mist. Luigi sighed in defeat. "…perfect."

* * *

"Are you sure this is being an idea of goodness?"

"Uh… heh heh… yeah! I totally know where I'm goin'! …I think…"

"Oh, come on you two, lighten up! Things won't get any better if you continue to think like that!"

Livi stopped and stared at the jester for a moment. Finally, her gaze shifted to Fawful. "Am I loopy or did Dimentio just say to 'think positive'?"

"Hm… you're starting to rub off on me, I suppose…" Dimentio said with a sarcastic grin.

Livi giggled. Fawful rolled his eyes. "You two are being such idiots of foolishness… How can we possibly have the finding of him? This place is being infinite!"

"You know… he does have a point…" Dimentio tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Like the jailbird's many years in his ratty cage seem to, the Underwhere goes on forever! How are we going to get Mr. L out before the darkness sucks us in?"

Livi thought about that for a while, then suddenly, she gasped in surprise as though a thought had just occurred to her. "You just made a simile!"

Dimentio blinked. "…what?"

"A simile! You just made a simile! That's the first time you've done that since you came back, right?"

Dimentio had to think a while. She had a point, it had been a while since he had said something like that. He casually shrugged it off. "Yes, so?"

"SO EVERYTHING!" Livi screamed, running up and hugging him tight. "You're getting back to your old self! You're talking in cute little similes and you're smiling again and give funny-but-mean-and-not-helpful advice!" Livi turned her face up to the jester. "You're _my_Dimentio again…"

Dimentio smiled nervously, laughing a bit. "I… I didn't realize… such things were so… important…"

"Of course it's important!" Livi said, throwing her hands up in the air. "That's what makes you Dimentio! That's what all the fangirls have come to know and love!"

Dimentio smiled. "Alright, then… I'll try to be a tad more… ah, _Me_-ish…"

"YAY!" Livi yelled, glomping Dimentio again.

"If you two are being done acting like the _idiots…_" Fawful snapped, stepping between them and pushing them apart. "This is possessing seriousness! We are going to be getting lost if we are not thinking of something!"

"Hm… he is right, you know…" Dimentio said, thinking again. "How _are_we going to find Mr. L? Such a task would be nearly impossible… I can't think of a single method we could use for locating him… without getting us lost or killed, that is…"

Livi just smiled and continued walking, catching his gloved hand as she passed and pulling him along. As usual, the gesture did its job in quieting his restless curse. "Eh, Hakuna Matata."

The jester tilted his head slightly to the side. "…Haku… what are you saying?"

Livi blinked at him, her expression clearly stating that he was a complete and utter _idiot _for not understanding something so simple. "Hakuna Matata." She repeated. "_The Lion King? _It means 'no worries'!"

Something in the jester's hollow chest caught his attention at that, though he couldn't determine quite what it was. "…no worries?" he stupidly echoed.

"There ya go!" Livi chirped, smiling brightly. She then went on to sing the song she had taken the phrase from, earning a loud groan of protest from Fawful. Neither seemed to notice the gears beginning to spin in Dimentio's mind. He recalled dimly Jaydes' promise to send a savior to right his path.

Allowing a soft smile to cross his mask, Dimentio silently reminded himself to never doubt the Queen again.


	11. Into the Darkness

_Grabbing… pulling… hitting…_

_Each touch felt like lightning sparks… the long, ghastly fingers clawing at his body…_

_Evil, dark Underhands… pulling him down… dragging him back down into that eternal darkness, from which there was __**no **__escaping…_

_Laughter… the doomed souls that haunted the River Twygz… gleefully enjoying his misfortunate fate…_

_The Underhands' chilling grip burned his flesh… making him scream out in pain…_

_But, he couldn't scream… if he did, he would drown… swallow heavy gulps of darkness rather than the air he so desperately needed…_

_Not a soul in any world deserved this torture… none deserved to be thrown to the Underhands…_

_What had he done… to deserve such a fate?_

…

"…Dimentio?"

Dimentio snapped out of his daze, turning to face the child. Livi was knelt down on the ground, leaning over the River Twygz for a better view, yet her face, confused and worried, was turned to the jester.

"Are you alright, Dimentio?" She asked, cocking her head to one side. "I lost ya for a second there…"

Against his will, Dimentio's gaze returned to the ghostly-white skeleton fingers brushing the surface of the river, the eerie voices moaning in longing for their prey. "Yes, ah…" Dimentio sighed shakily. "I'm fine…"

"Mmmm-kay…" Livi said uncertainly, turning back to the murky waters.

Dimentio gulped nervously, floating backwards towards the shore a bit. "Do we have to be so close to the river?"

"Yeah! Mr. L might be down there!" Livi exclaimed.

Dimentio shuddered against his will. _Oh, Overthere forbid the poor soul would have fallen to such a fate… _"Wh-what makes you… think that?"

"I dunno…" Livi replied, shrugging as she reached out and splashed the water around, exciting the Underhands. "I've seen crap like that all over the internet… the fanbase runs away with the Underwhere…"

Dimentio wasn't listening to her anymore. If he was, he didn't show any interest in answering her. Every scrap of the jester's attention was fixed on the restless Underhands.

His thoughts were drifting away to darkest parts of his mind—memories he had fought so hard to repress now surfacing to terrorize him once again. Dimentio recalled the months he had spend in Bonechill's Prison, the pain and torture he had been forced to endure there. He remembered the Underhands that would crawl out of the darkness to beat and abuse him—they had quickly become his greatest fear…

Dimentio jumped in surprise at the sound of Livi's scream not even three feet from him. When his heart decided to start beating again, and his senses returned, he noticed Fawful lying on the ground, laughing hysterically and Livi, thrown backwards on her butt in a shallow shelf of the riverbed—now soaked-though with the dark waters, not looking very happy.

Underhands started to snake their way towards Livi, the voices murmuring with pleasure at a new victim, but Livi took no notice. She simply growled, snarling at Fawful, then launched herself out of the water, out of the Underhands' reach, to tackle into the young bean. They were soon rolling across the dirt floor yet again, beating each other to death.

Dimentio was about to float over and separate them, when he felt a familiar pain. Something was pricking at his chest—at his _heart_.

_The curse_… Dimentio thought, horrified.

Why had it come back now? Recently it had fallen more and more silent, and _now _it chooses to haunt him again? What had he done? Admittedly, nothing good, but still, he had done nothing _wrong_… What was the trigger?

Dimentio cringed, clutching at his chest as the pricks turned to painful stabs. He whimpered miserably, not at all sure what to do. He had to find a way to make it stop, but looking around, he found no answer. If he couldn't stop the pain, then he had to get away. He couldn't let the others see him like this…

Then… as if by miracle… there it was—his opportunity.

"Whoa—WHOA!" Livi exclaimed as Fawful threw her off. Her feet were barely balanced on the edge of a drop-off on the riverbed. There was nothing but miles of endless river beneath her if she fell. The girl was leaned forward, waving her arms in a spastic fashion; a vain attempt to maintain her balance.

Meanwhile, Fawful pushed himself up off the ground and walked smugly over to Livi. "It seems you are being in that which is a situation, yessing?"

"Oh, will you just shut up and help me?" Livi snapped, yelping in surprise as she lost balance for an instant.

"Hmmm…" Fawful mused. "I am supposing I _could _be assisting you…"

"Good! Then do it!" Livi pleaded. "Just grab my shirt and pull me back."

Fawful sighed submissively. "Alrighting…" he agreed, walking behind her and grabbing the loose T-shirt. "Of coursing… it would be possessing many funnies to be seeing you in the _drownings_…"

"WHAT?" Livi shrieked, eyeing the river nervously. "Fawful! Don't! You! _Dare_!"

Fawful chuckled. "Ooooh, I have darings…" he teased, relaxing his grip ever-so-slightly.

"EEP! Fawful, quit it!" Livi whined.

Dimentio looked from one idiot to the other, a smile beginning to play at his lips. If he was going to get away, he simply needed a distraction… both of them would be fine, the jester reassured himself.

_After all… _he thought maliciously. _Don't children like to swim?_

"Luigi… are you, uh, _sure _you know where we're going?" Kamek asked nervously.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure… we're almost to the River Twygz… it goes right through the middle of the Underwhere." Luigi explained.

"Ah…" Kamek said. He looked around a bit, taking in the dark, creepy surroundings. "You're handling this awfully well…"

"Handling what?" Luigi asked.

"Well… no offense or anything…" Kamek said delicately, not wanting to upset his only way out of here. "But, between you and your brother… you always seemed to be the…"

"Fraidy-cat?" Luigi offered.

Kamek looked away. "Uh, yeah…"

"Don't worry about it; I get that a lot…" Luigi said, shrugging off-handedly. "I guess that's mainly because it's true…"

"But… Since we've all gotten sucked into this…" Kamek said slowly. "I don't know if you've noticed, but you seem… you've really taken control. We'd all be screwed if not for you…"

Luigi flashed Kamek a smile. "Well, I don't really see any of the other idiots stepping up… do you?"

Kamek sighed, smiling a bit himself. "No, I suppose not…"

Luigi laughed. "Look, I don't _have _to be the sidekick… I can be brave if I need to be… the only thing that's worrying me now is…"

Kamek looked up as Luigi's voice trailed off. "…Dimentio?" He suggested.

Luigi grimaced. "Yeah…"

Kamek laid a hand on Luigi's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, okay? Remember, Nastasia told us that as long as Dimentio's curse holds, he's harmless… And, call me crazy, but I'm starting to think Livi knows what she's doing… maybe Dimentio really is changing."

Luigi gave Kamek a glare.

Kamek shrugged. "Alright, fine, don't listen to me…"

Luigi looked away, and suddenly perked up as something caught his attention. "There it is! That's the river!"

"What—ACK!" Before Kamek could finish his question, Luigi grabbed his arm and ran off, dragging Kamek behind him. As soon as they hit the riverbed, however—

_BAM!  
_

Luigi groaned heavily, rubbing his sore head. He pushed himself off the ground, where he had wound up sprawled-out from the impact, and took Kamek's hand to pull himself up. Lying on the ground a few feet away, was a very dazed-looking—

"Livi!" Luigi ran over and helped her to her feet. The fangirl however, fell into a dizzied slump in his arms. "Livi, what happened to you?" Luigi asked, looking over the cuts, bruises, and burns that covered her dripping-wet skin and clothes.

"Fawful pushed me in the river…" Livi mumbled weakly into Luigi's shirt.

_The river_… Luigi mused. So, that was why she was so wet. Her scars, Luigi guessed, were from the Underhands making mad grabs at her.

Luigi's attention was drawn away from Livi for a moment as Fawful, in a condition nearly equal to the fangirl's, ran over to join the group. The hero less-than-gently handed Livi off to Kamek so he could heal her a bit, and immediately started in on Fawful.

"You pushed her in the River Twygz?" Luigi exclaimed. "Are you insane?"

Fawful backed himself up against a tree as Luigi approached him. Whether the child was shivering from cold or fright, Luigi couldn't tell. "I-I… I wasn't _meaning _to—"

"Fawful, this isn't funny!" Luigi snapped, enraged. "You could have gotten her seriously hurt! Those Underhands could have ended her game!"

"I am knowing that!" Fawful said, though his voice sounded desperate. "It was not being me who had pushing of her!"

"Oh, really?" Luigi asked sarcastically, folding his arms over his chest. "Then who was it, huh?"

"I-I am not kn-knowing!" Fawful stammered. "Someone had the pushing of _me_, and we _both _had the falling!"

Luigi scoffed. "Look, save the lies, Fawful… I don't want—"

"Now, wait Luigi…" Kamek interrupted. "He could be right."

"How could he be right?" Luigi snapped. "Why would anyone have interest in drowning them?"

"Well, do you see Dimentio anywhere nearby?" Kamek challenged.

Luigi froze. Simultaneously, Livi and Fawful's heads snapped up as realization dawned on them. Luigi turned slowly around to face Livi, who was now looking around nervously. "Livi… where's Dimentio?"

"Um… uh…" Livi laughed nervously, backing away a bit. "F-funny story… about that…"

"_Please_… tell me you didn't lose Dimentio…" Luigi begged her.

"I, uh… I d-didn't… _lose _Dimentio…" Livi mumbled, playing with her hair.

Luigi was getting an uneasy knot in the pit of his stomach. "Good… now, say it like you _mean _it…"

Livi said nothing, shrinking away from Luigi a bit.

"…Livi?" Luigi prompted.

"What if… Wh-what if I… d-do-_don't _mean it?" Livi asked nervously.

"Livi!" Luigi groaned, running his hands over his face.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to lose him, honest! We were keeping a good eye on him—but when we fell, I guess he musta slipped off! You know he's all sneaky and stuff, and he's good at running off and hiding and stuff, and you know how stupid and irresponsible I am and—omigosh, I'm so sorry, Weegee!" Livi wailed.

"So, we've somehow managed to lose a psychopathic jester who tried to destroy all worlds in the Underwhere…" Kamek grumbled. "And without any idea where _we _are…"

"Yes, thank you, Kamek, way to be positive about the situation…" Luigi snapped sarcastically.

"Well, what are we going to have the doing of?" Fawful asked.

Luigi shook his head. "There's nothing we can do… let's just keep looking for Mr. L, and if the fates are with us, maybe we'll run into Dimentio…"

Some time later, the group found themselves at a steep bank, leading down to the riverbed, where a large boat was docked. Charold, the ferry captain, was standing on the bank, awaiting anyone who wished to cross.

"C'mon…" Luigi said, sliding expertly down the steep bank. "We'll check the other side of the river."

Fawful slid after Luigi, stumbling ungracefully at the bottom from his Underhand scars. Kamek came down next and helped him up. Livi wasn't even paying attention to her fandoms anymore. She just kept starting out into the forest, as if she expected something to appear out of thin air.

"Livi?" Luigi asked. He sighed, knowing her too well. He held out a hand in her direction. "C'mon, Livi… we need to go…"

Livi nodded mutely, then slid down the bank, tripping over a loose rock and falling into Luigi's arms. He whispered softly to her, soothingly stroking her hair. "Look… you don't need to worry, okay? Dimentio knows how to take care of himself…"

Livi shook her head, looking up at Luigi with sad, pleading eyes. "I'm worried about him… his curse… he needs me…"

Luigi sighed. "We'll find him, okay? He'll be fine until then…" Livi nodded mutely, though she still seemed unconvinced. Luigi simply put an arm around her shoulder and steered her towards the boat.

Charold was already in place, ready to take off. Luigi assumed Kamek had already paid him the four coins required to cross the river. Luigi jumped up onto the edge of the boat, Kamek helping him in, and turned around to offer Livi a hand.

"What's wrong?" Kamek asked bluntly.

"With Livi?" Luigi assumed. "She's just worried about Dimentio… I don't know why she would bother, though… Livi!"

Livi snapped her attention away from the forest as her name was called. She firmly took Luigi's hand and swung herself up into the boat, almost slipping as her feet caught the slippery surface. She ignored Luigi as he sat down beside Kamek, walking to the other side of the boat to sit beside Fawful. He was leaned over the side, staring down into the murky waters, and she yanked on his cloak as she passed to pull him back into the safety of the boat.

"Well, you can hardly blame her…" Kamek said as Charold pushed the boat off the shore. "She's come this far on her journey, and suddenly, one of us runs off for no reason?"

"Oh, trust me, he _has _a reason… we just don't know what it is yet…" Luigi grumbled, crossing his arms. "And we won't know until it's too late to stop him… that's just how Dimentio is…"

Kamek narrowed his eyes, giving Luigi a cold glare. "Luigi, you know exactly what's troubling Dimentio. You keep refusing to let go of the past—and what do you think that tells him about Mr. L? Do you not think Dimentio's afraid that Mr. L is still carrying a grudge as well?"

"As he should!" Luigi snapped. "It's Dimentio's fault Mr. L's trapped down here! You saw for yourself, Dimentio's the one who ended his game!"

Kamek sighed. "I know, but that's his problem, not yours… Dimentio's past has come back to haunt him _plenty _without your help, and Jaydes has made well sure of that."

Luigi turned away, staring down at his reflection in the water's dark surface. The Underhands were restless today with so many living souls arriving, their voices moaning and screaming out. Luigi remembered falling in the river, being dragged deeper and deeper down underwater…

Kamek's voice softened when he spoke next. "Look… I'm not saying you're wrong… Dimentio was a monster, I agree with that. But, that's just the point. He _was _a monster. It's all in the past, and it won't affect anyone's futures if you would just let. it. go."

Luigi nodded grimly. "You're right… Okay? You're right about everything—Dimentio _isn't _the same person he was a year ago… but, I can't just forgive him for what he did to me and my friends."

"Why not?" Kamek challenged. "What is stopping you from letting Dimentio show you he can change? He can, I _know _he can, but you have to _let _him…"

Luigi turned and smirked at Kamek. "And _you're _supposed to be the bad guy?"

Kamek waved him off. "Don't change the subject… and besides, I'm just going about this logically—which is what _makes _me a 'bad guy'… someone has to be King Bowser's brains, and it _certainly _isn't going to be Kammy…"

Luigi laughed, and opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by Fawful asking, "What are you having the doing of?" Luigi was about to give an answer when he noticed that the beanish child wasn't talking to him. He was facing Livi, who had climbed up to perch on the tip of the boat, staring out into the forest.

"Livi? What are you doing up there?" Livi didn't hear Luigi, or else she was ignoring him, still staring out into the forest. She tensed up as the boat began to slow down, approaching the shore. Then, just as the boat was about to hit shore, Livi jumped off and hit the ground running, taking off into the forest. Luigi jumped off, trying to follow her. "Livi! Where do you think you're going?"

Livi finally responded, calling over her shoulder, "If you won't help me find Dimentio, then I'm going to go find him myself!"

Luigi stood there a moment, utterly stunned. When his senses finally returned to him, he screamed out after her, "Livi! You're crazy! This isn't a game—you can't survive in the Underwhere on your own!"

"I'd like to see you try and stop me!" Livi retorted. However, it was too late for Luigi to try anything of the sort—Livi's voice had already faded to a mere echo, and the fangirl was lost to the dark, eerie forests.

Kamek and Fawful ran up behind Luigi, both looking frantic and worried. "What are we going to be doing?" Fawful asked. "She is going to be having the over of games!"

Luigi looked around, desperately searching for an answer. Finally, off in the distance—he found it. A large building, composed completely of a dark gray stone, in the center of a large clearing in the forest.

"Jaydes…" Luigi whispered.

"What?" Kamek asked, following Luigi's gaze. "What are you talking about?"

"We have to get to the Palace…" Luigi said, starting off in that direction, the others following. "If anyone can help us now, it'll be Jaydes. This is her kingdom, she has to know _something _we can do! Maybe she can track them for us!"

"Are you crazy? That will never work!" Kamek snapped. "She could only be able to track Shaydes and D-men at best. She'll never be able to find Mr. L and Dimentio—let alone Livi!"

Luigi shook his head. "We have to try! She's our only hope at this point…"

Kamek groaned as Luigi ran ahead, leaving the other two fandoms behind. Looking down, Kamek noticed Fawful had stopped completely, staring stunned into the forest. The Magikoopa smiled knowingly. "You aren't… _worried _about Livi… are you?"

Fawful fiercely shook his head 'no'. "Of coursing not! I have none of the carings for this fangirl of stupidness…"

Kamek shrugged. "Good. I thought you would be happy. She's finally out of your hair. _For good_."

Kamek grinned when he noticed Fawful's eyes widen a fraction. "Th-that cannot be being so… She will be possessing fineness… yessing?"

Kamek sighed, deciding to have mercy on him. "Well, it doesn't matter now, but… if we _did _care what happened to her, I'm sure she'd be fine… she's put up with you long enough to handle herself out there…" Kamek winked. "Not that you'd care… right?"

Fawful grinned gratefully. "R-right…"

Kamek tried not to laugh as he motioned for Fawful to follow him. "C'mon, let's go catch up with Luigi… who knows? Maybe we'll find all of them after all…

"Maybe, just maybe… we'll be able to get out of here alive…"

_Good Grambi! First Dimentio—now Livi? What have I done? Oh well… the Action's really gonna pick up in the next chapter… __**And Mr. L's coming too! Yay!**_


	12. The Final Fandom

_Hard to believe, I know, but YES, Livi is really THAT stupid… It's okay though, we love her anyway, stupidity and all!_

_Regarding the fandoms… originally, I was totally planning to have this epic scene with Dimentio, concerning all these awesome angsty flashbacks and junk… but, my main source of inspiration was being a JERK… so, that never happened… (glares at ceiling)_

_BUT, on the plus side, I think I like the chapter a whole lot better this way… What do you guys think?_

_Anyway, who am I to keep you waiting? ON WITH THE STORY!_

* * *

Livi slumped up against one of the many black trees in the dense forest she found herself running through. She stood there a moment, gasping for breath. She always hated running like that, as she had never been in the best of physical conditions, but she simply couldn't risk Luigi catching up to her.

The fangirl glanced around to reassure herself that the others had given up chasing her. However, seeing nothing but endless forest in every direction she turned was not very reassuring. She had no idea where she was, or even from which direction she had just come.

"Craaaaaaap…" Livi moaned. "This is gonna be tougher than I thought…"

For a fleeting moment, Livi considered going back to find the others and give up this crazy little solo-mission. However, her thoughts returning to the vanishing jester, she quickly dismissed that, and took off running into the darkness yet again.

Finally, after running around for a while, the forest began to thin out a bit. Livi found herself in a clearing of sorts, at the entrance to a large cave. The air coming out of the cave was much colder than the air in the Underwhere. The inside of the cave was so dark, Livi could hardly see past the entrance. All she could tell, by observing the dirt floor, was that it slopped downward. She assumed the majority of the cave was located deep below the Underwhere.

"Whoa…" Livi whispered, slowly approaching the mouth of the cave, enchanted by the dark mysteries it held. "Wonder where this goes…"

Resting her hand lightly on the cave wall, she sharply drew it back, yelling out in pain. "Holy freaking crap! It's like ice!" Upon closer inspection, she couldn't have been more correct—a few sections of the wall were covered in small patches of a blueish ice.

"_Ya know… Weegee wouldn't be able to find me down there…" _Livi thought to herself.

"_No, no, no!" _She argued against herself, shaking her head stubbornly. _"Weegee doesn't like me to go messing around with things on my own…"_

"_Yeah… 'cause he doesn't want me to have any fun…"_

"_No. I know that isn't true. Weegee's only trying to protect me…"_

"_Then again, if I stay up here much longer, Luigi's sure to find me… he'll never let me chase Dimentio down then… Then what'll I do, huh?"_

"_Well… it's possible… maybe I actually __**want **__him to find me… I'm in the Underwhere… Do I really wanna separate myself from the only fandom I can trust worth crap?"_

"_Of course not… but, I do need to find my __**favorite **__fandom… Dimentio needs me… and Grambi knows none of the others are going to help him… I'm his only hope…"_

"_No." _Livi firmly decided, turning to walk off, still rubbing her hand in an attempt to circulate blood. _"Dimentio wouldn't have wandered down there… there's no chance Mr. L would be there either… I've got no business exploring a dark, none-game cave, all on my own, with no help from Luigi…"_

There was a long period of silence as Livi stopped dead in her tracks.

"_Then again…" _Livi thought, turning around with a devious smirk. _"It couldn't hurt to check…"_

* * *

Luigi paced worriedly back and forth outside of the chamber doors, ignoring Kamek and Fawful as they idly chattered off to the side. He was too distracted to take part in any of their conversations. So many questions clouded his mind; _Where had Livi run off to? Is she alright? And what could Dimentio possibly be planning? Why did he run off? Could he be afraid of Mr. L like Kamek said? If that's the case, then where __**is **__Mr. L? How are we going to find him? How are we going to find __**any **__of them?_

This was most troubling. How had Luigi gotten himself into this mess? When he and Mario had been sent off in search of Luvbi, they had found the bothersome Princess and returned her safely back to the Overthere with no problems at all. This time around, not only was he incapable of locating his evil self, but he had lost two members of his search party in the process!

Luigi only hoped Jaydes would be able to at _least _point them in the right direction. If she could, they were about to find out, because at that moment, the Queen herself stepped outside to join the odd group, shutting the door carefully behind her.

"Luigi?" The Queen mused, seeming a tad surprised. "The D-men told me you were waiting to see me, but I didn't believe it… what brings you down here?"

Luigi took a nervous breath as Kamek and Fawful came over to join him. "We need your help with something… we came down here on… on a mission, of sorts, and things have been going a little… wrong…"

Jaydes laughed under her breath. "I see… and what, dare I ask, is this mission of yours?"

Luigi sighed, hanging his head a bit. "It's Livi… she's a fangirl, and she's on some mad quest to hunt down five of us in this world… we're her favorites from the games…"

"Ah… hunting you down, is she?" Jaydes mused, smiling. "And what does that have to do with you exploring my kingdom?"

"She's looking for Mr. L…" Luigi said bluntly. "He's the last one she needs to find…"

"Mr. L?" Jaydes asked, looking surprised.

"Yeah…" Luigi said. "Look, I know it's kinda crazy… and maybe you can't help us a—"

"Why didn't you just come to me first?" Jaydes interrupted with a sly look, placing one hand on the ring used to open and close the stone door. "Such a problem could be _easily _remedied."

Before Luigi could open his mouth to wonder why she thought it was so simple, Jaydes gave a firm yank, throwing the door open. And, having had his ear pressed up to the other side of the door, who should come crashing to the ground with a scream of surprise but the Green Thunder himself.

"OI!" Mr. L yelled, rubbing his sore head. "What the hell, Jaydes?"

"What have I told you about eavesdropping on me?" Jaydes said with a glare.

Mr. L pointed to the inside of the castle. "It was Luvbi's idea! She made me do it!"

Jaydes smiled smugly. "Luvbi has been outside of the castle all morning…"

Mr. L growled, looking away as he pushed himself up off the ground, brushing off his clothes. "Of course she has… I get locked up in the castle for no reason, right when all the action starts, and mommy's precious little nimbi gets to wander around all she wants…"

"I have my reasoning, Mr. L…" Jaydes said. She held up a hand to silence him when he opened his mouth to say something else, instead turning back to Luigi. "There. That is one problem solved…"

"Whadda ya—" Mr. L was about to say something, then caught Luigi staring at him, mouth agape, and suddenly took on a similar expression. He stood there a moment, then quietly murmured, "Holy shit, it is Weegee…"

Jaydes glanced from one to the other. "That's right… the two of you have never met the other before, have you? Well, there's a first time for everything, I suppose…"

Mr. L narrowed his eyes, smirking. "You don't even know who I am, do ya, Weegee?"

Luigi finally recovered from shock, taking on an expression not unlike anger. "I've had nightmares… Dimentio haunts them, and you do too…"

Mr. L was stunned. "…oh…" was all he said.

"So… you are _really _being the one who is Mr. L?" Fawful questioned, looking up at the final fandom.

Mr. L gave an arrogant smirk, gesturing proudly to himself. "The Green Thunder—The one and only, Mr. L!"

"Someone's a bit full of himself…" Kamek whispered to Luigi, making him laugh lightly under his breath.

"Anyway…" Jaydes said, pushing Mr. L away from the others. "You have more problems you would like me to solve?"

"Oh, right… well, um… Livi sorta… went missing…" Luigi sheepishly admitted.

"Went missing?" Jaydes questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… by 'went missing'… I mean 'ran off and we have no idea where she went or how to find her'…" Luigi said, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Hm…" Jaydes mumbled. "I do hope she's alright… I'm not quite finished with…" The Queen trailed off so Luigi couldn't hear her. Mr. L must have heard her, however, because he shot her a rather nasty glare.

"What was that?" He spat.

"None of your concern." Jaydes stated, waving him off.

"It is too my concern if you're gonna—" Mr. L was harshly cut off by Jaydes clapping a clawed hand over his mouth, making him mumble something unintelligible at her.

"Now then…" Jaydes said, ignoring him as he attempted to pry her hand off. "How should be go about finding—"

"Mother! Mother!" Luigi spun around at the sound of a high-pitched female voice behind him, searching for whoever could have interrupted Jaydes. He was almost surprised to see Luvbi fluttering out of the forest, looking very panicked.

The young nimbi came to a stop just in front of her mother and Mr. L, ignoring the fandoms as though they were not present at all, and panted for breath, her heart-shaped wings drooping low to brush the floor. "Mother… there be… a girl…" Luvbi said between gasps, gesturing with one wing out into the forest. "…near thy cave… the one thou… hast locked away… thy monster in…"

Luigi felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. "Oh no… Jaydes… surely she doesn't mean—"

Jaydes nodded, cutting him off. "Your friend is in trouble…"

"Wooooow…" Mr. L said as Jaydes' hand fell away from his mouth. "That is a _really _stupid fangirl…"

"What?" Kamek finally asked. "What are they talking about?"

"Livi's on her way down to Bonechill's Prison…" Luigi whispered, trembling with fear.

Kamek's eyes widened a fraction. "Are you serious?"

Luigi silently nodded as Jaydes spoke up again, remaining surprisingly calm. "Well, this is certainly a problem… Bonechill has been rather temperamental lately—I don't know what's gotten into him…"

"He's probably cranky because you took his favorite prisoner and set him—mmmph!" Mr. L was cut off again by Jaydes' hand clapping over his mouth.

"Thank you, Mr. L." Jaydes spat, quickly taking her hand back as soon as he was silent. "Now, if you are though making an idiot of yourself, we are in dire need of a way to assist the young fangirl…"

"Well, why don't you send me off after her?" Mr. L suggested, dripping with sarcasm. "You make me do all your dirty work anyway—and that's the only way you'll ever let me out of this stupid castle." He paused a moment in his bitter rantings to sarcastically give a dramatic bow to the Queen. "The Green Thunder at your service, your majesty! I would be _honored _to go off on a daring mission to rescue the fair damsel in distress!"

Jaydes pursed her lips, looking for a moment like she was considering raking her claws across Mr. L's face. Finally, she smirked, and said, "Alright."

Mr. L's head shot up, looking very stunned. "…what?"

"Alright." Jaydes repeated. "You may go search for the fangirl."

Mr. L straightened up, an eager grin spreading across his face. "Are you serious? I can go? Really?"

Jaydes nodded. "Knowing I'll regret this—yes, you may… the girl should be near—"

"Inside." Luvbi corrected.

"—Inside the cave leading down to Bonechill's prison." Jaydes amended. "You know the location. She is a young human girl, about fifteen years in age. She goes by Livi—best of luck to you."

"Alright!" Mr. L shouted, throwing his fist in the air. With that, he jumped off the platform everyone was standing on and took off into the forests. "Don't worry, Jaydes—I'm all over it!"

Jaydes sighed to herself, shaking her head as he disappeared. "That's kind of what I'm worried about."

"Ay. Methinks this be a most unwise decision, Mother…" Luvbi said bluntly.

"Hush, dear…" Jaydes said, waving her off. She turned back to Luigi and said, "Was there anything else you needed my assistance with?"

Luigi thought for a moment, then decided, "No, that's it. Thanks for yo—" The hero was cut off as Kamek jabbed his elbow into his gut. Luigi glared at him, then saw the way Kamek was glaring right back, and instantly gave in. "Actually… we've got a real problem… Dimentio's missing…"

There was a period of silence. Finally, Luigi felt Kamek's hand wrap around his forearm. He wondered for a moment what the Magikoopa was doing, then winced painfully as he felt Kamek's claws digging into his skin. Luigi took the hint. "And we need to find him." He said quickly. Kamek didn't let go, still glaring at him, so Luigi had to keep talking. "We're really worried about him—all of us are, and we don't know what he could be up to—Ow!" Kamek clawed a little harder to cut him off. Luigi gulped nervously, noticing the patch of red beginning to appear on his sleeve. "We really need him here with us… we have to find him… last we saw, he slipped off into one of the forests, but—"

"Oh!" Jaydes suddenly interrupted, surprised. She looked out into the forest, looking scared, with one hand over her mouth. "Oh yes… _that's _why I didn't want him out there…"

Luigi didn't even have to ask. He and Kamek had more than likely been correct in their assumptions; Mr. L still carried a grudge. And, thinking back to the way Jaydes was constantly cutting him off, the way he had said things like _"Bonechill's favorite prisoner…" _and _"…it IS my concern…"_, no doubt Mr. L was well aware that Dimentio had been released, and he _wasn't _happy about it.

Jaydes turned to Luvbi, who was floating worriedly at her feet. "Luvbi, dear, would you be kind enough to go and fetch Dimentio for me?" The Queen extended a claw to gesture towards the River Twygz. "He's just on the outskirts of that clearing in the forest over there… tell him he's to meet his friends at the entrance to Bonechill's Prison."

Luvbi simply nodded to her Mother and started off in her assigned direction. About halfway down the hallway, she stopped abruptly as Jaydes called out to her. "Oh, and Luvbi? Would you deliver a message for me?"

Luvbi nodded, looking confused. "Tell Dimentio… he's almost through…" Jaydes said, smiling. Luvbi smiled in return, nodded eagerly, and fluttered off a bit quicker. When she was gone, Jaydes turned back to the fandoms and asked, "Is there anything else?"

Luigi shook his head, breathing a sigh of relief when Kamek released him, rubbing his arm. "No, that's it…"

"Very well then…" Jaydes said, nodding off towards the forest. "I'd suggest you lot tail after Mr. L; he's been known to get himself into trouble. Dimentio will meet you at the cave's entrance."

Luigi nodded, though he was having a few doubts that Dimentio would listen to Luvbi. "Alright, and thanks for all your help!" He said, running off after the other two.

"Not a problem at all, Luigi! And best of luck to you all! You're going to need it!" The Queen called after them, smiling fondly as they disappeared.

* * *

"Well then? …Are we going to go down after her, or stand around like rather indecisive statues all day?" said the eerie, melodic voice.

Luigi spun around to see Dimentio floating over to join the group. All the fandoms were gathered outside the entrance to the cave—the gateway to Bonechill's Prison. Upon arriving, Mr. L had been nowhere in sight. The others had assumed they had been too late to catch him—he must have gone in ahead of them.

Kamek and Fawful immediately started explaining the situation to Dimentio, taking turns interrupting each other. Dimentio seemed slightly amused at this, smiling airily as he floated before them, his gaze shifting from one to the other to follow their story. Luigi was hardly listening to them—rather, he was observing the jester. Dimentio's smile had been restored to the creepy way he remembered it, but there was something off in his voice. Usually so confident, the jester's voice now seemed strained, as though he struggled to speak.

When Fawful and Kamek reached the part about Livi disappearing down the cave in search of her mysterious jester (they had neglected to inform him on their run-in with Mr. L), Dimentio interrupted them, still smiling. "If our dear fangirl is in trouble, I must wonder what we are doing here, gossiping to one another, when we could be heading down to rescue her…"

Everyone nodded in agreement, widening Dimentio's smile as he nodded his head. "Very well then… I surmise it's time we were off." The jester floated to the cave's mouth along with the others, but paused, floating in place as the others continued down.

Luigi cast him a glance over his shoulder. "Coming, Dimentio?"

Dimentio hesitantly nodded his head, smiling again. This smile seemed weaker, slightly off… as though he were making considerable effort to maintain it. "Yes… of… of course…"

Luigi paused as the jester drifted down into the dark passageways, following the trail of light from Kamek's wand. As Dimentio passed him, Luigi gently caught his shoulder, making his head snap up to face the hero. "Hey… Are you alright?" he quietly asked, trying to look sympathetic.

Dimentio glared at Luigi, harshly shrugging him off. "I'm perfectly fine, thank you…" he growled, floating ahead. Luigi felt his hand clench into a fist. Resisting the urge to slam his fist into the back of Dimentio's head, he just ran ahead to catch up with Kamek.

When he caught up to the Magikoopa, Dimentio already a ways ahead and Fawful lagging a bit behind him, Luigi noticed that Kamek was shivering slightly. "You alright?" Luigi asked.

Kamek shook his head. "Too much magic…" He mumbled.

"What is?" Luigi asked. "There shouldn't be anything down here."

"Dimentio." Was the blunt reply as Kamek tried to suppress a heavy shudder.

"Dimentio?" Luigi hissed under his breath. "What is that little sneak doing now?"

Kamek shook his head. "Nothing… The magic's coming _off _of him… he isn't _doing _anything…"

"…what does that mean?" Luigi asked, taking Kamek's still-glowing wand to allow him to fold his arms over his chest.

"Did you hear… what Jaydes… told Luvbi?" Kamek asked slowly, trying to warm up to the sickening feeling the magic was giving him.

"…something about… 'he's almost through…'" Luigi said, thinking carefully. He turned to Kamek, raising an eyebrow. "Through with what, though?"

Kamek finally looked up at Luigi over the rim of his glasses. "Something's very wrong with him… I think it's his curse…"

* * *

_MR. L LIVES! SQUEE! HE'S FINALLY HERE!_

_This is so insanely crazy AWESOME!_

…_and NO I DON'T know what Kamek's talking about… so don't ask…_

_I'll try to update soon! I really will! We're finally to the good stuff!_

_L-ater!_


	13. Welcome to Hell

_Oi… and I thought the Underwhere was dark… _Mr. L thought bitterly to himself, huffing as he crossed his arms over his chest in a vain attempt to keep himself warm. He stepped nimbly through the darkness, carefully avoiding the small patches of ice rooted to the floor.

The cave was dark. Much, much too dark for his liking. The only thing he could see was the ice, glimmering from a dim light (so weak he hardly dared to call it 'light') he couldn't quite locate the source of, and the thin wisps of fog his breath made in the cool air.

"This bites." Mr. L grumbled to himself. However, in that statement, Mr. L found himself thanking his lucky stars he hadn't been sentenced to an eternity in the Underwhere. When Jaydes had weighed his sins, of course in the few short weeks he'd been alive, he had done nothing _but _evil. However, upon closer inspection from the Queen, Mr. L had had no _opportunity _to be good. He had never known anything but a life of villainy. Nastasia had hypnotized him to give undying loyalty to the Count, which is exactly what he'd done—he couldn't help it. He never had a choice.

As much as he had come to resent it, and though that was probably what landed him in the Underwhere, that was the one thing keeping him out of Bonechill's Prison. For that, at least, Mr. L was thankful.

Mr. L suddenly growled under his breath, coming back to the present moment. He looked up and all around him. "Where is that stupid girl? Honestly! How hard can it be to find a freaking fangirl!"

Suddenly, Mr. L yelped in surprise, reflexively ducking under his arms when he heard a loud scream echo through the passageway. Straightening up, he looked around curiously. The caves had fallen completely silent yet again. "What… the hell…?" he finally mumbled to himself.

He flinched again as a second scream met his ears. Curious, Mr. L took off in the general direction they seemed to be coming from. As he chased the echoing noises, much to Mr. L's surprise, the ice was glistening brighter, lightening in color. The dark black of the walls and floor faded to a dull gray.

_No way… _Mr. L thought in amazement. _Is that… light? _First of all, when was the last time he had seen anything close to _light_? And second, what was it doing any number of miles _underground_? Under the _Underwhere_, for that matter.

There is was; there was an opening in one wall, no bigger than a large window. The light was radiating from that spot, framed by solid sheets of ice that were snaking out into thick patches on the walls.

Mr. L cautiously crept towards the opening, hearing another scream. He could hear more noises with it now—lots of scuffling, loud sounds like the shattering of glass, some clanking of aged machinery. Whatever it was, none of it sounded good.

Gulping nervously, placing his hands on the edge of the ice frames, Mr. L leaned over the edge to stare down into the cavern below. There was another scream as he did so, but this time, the source was visible.

Some five hundred feet below, there was a young human girl trying, and miserably failing, to escape an enraged Bonechill, who was hot on her heels. The huge monster roared menacingly, shooting large icicles at her, causing more screams as the girl was struck by them, or ran into the icy walls in a failed attempt to dodge.

_That's her! _Mr. L thought to himself. _That's gotta be the fangirl! _Now to the problem—he had to find a way down to her. Mr. L delicately leaned over the edge to look around the chamber, trying very hard to keep his grip on the ice. The cavern was completely covered in ice, and was very brightly lit. All the ice was glimmering and shining, reflecting light from… somewhere.

_Ugh! I'll worry about that later! _Mr. L told himself, firmly shaking his distractions off. _How'm I supposed to get down there? _Looking around frantically, however, he came up empty. From his current position, there was no way down to the girl save for a death-drop.

"Aw, man…" Mr. L moaned to himself. "Now what?"

* * *

Kamek walked in silence down the seemingly-never-ending passageways, lost deep in his thoughts. His body had finally gotten over whatever was wrong with Dimentio, but Kamek was still exhausting himself. It felt like they had been searching these passages for hours, and had found nothing. All this time, Kamek's wand illuminated their way, but as the Magikoopa grew more tired, the soft glow grew dimmer.

Kamek turned ever-so-slightly to glance at Luigi. His arms were crossed over his chest, his face downcast. Even through the flickering shadows, Luigi's face wasn't as pleasant as it could be. Kamek felt a twinge at his heart, part of him feeling sorry for Luigi, and another part being furious with himself for pitying one of the heroes.

_There's no 'heroes and villains'… _Luigi's words rang in the Magikoopa's mind. But, what about when he went home? What would King Bowser say if he could see him acting like this now?

_I'll worry about that later… _Kamek firmly decided, nudging Fawful from behind to catch the child's attention. When he turned around, Kamek nodded in the direction of Dimentio floating ahead. Fawful grimaced when he realized what Kamek was asking, but sighed anyway and ran ahead to catch up to the jester. Kamek made a mental note of the way Dimentio jumped when Fawful startled him, then he instantly relaxed, gratefully accepting the way their idle chattering occupied the darkness.

Kamek smirked. Dimentio was distracted, his full attention on Fawful. With that, Kamek started to walk closer to Luigi, gently nudging his arm. "Are you alright?"

Luigi shook his head.

"What, no lies this time?" Kamek asked gently with a playful smirk.

Luigi shrugged. "What good would it do now? You always see right through it…"

"Good. Then don't lie to me." Kamek said, inwardly feeling a slight twinge of happiness that Luigi didn't plan on hiding things from him anymore. "What's eating you now, then?"

"What do you think?" Luigi grumbled. "I can't stand any of this. I hope Livi's okay when we find her—because I'm going to kill her."

Kamek felt his heart drop in sympathy for Luigi. "Because she's forcing you to work with Dimentio?"

"It's not just him…" Luigi said miserably. "Mr. L's back too… some of the worst things that have ever happened to me I can trace right back to those two…"

Kamek took a deep breath. He knew Luigi was perfectly right to think like this, but the Magikoopa was very tired tonight, and was in no mood to have this argument again. "Look… I know this is tough on you… but you're going to have to get over it…"

Luigi looked up in surprise, but he didn't argue when Kamek continued. "You want all this mess to be over—we all do—but, that's not going to happen anytime soon… Livi won't stop until she gets what she wants. You know that."

Luigi nodded. "But, here's the thing…" Kamek continued. "If you want them gone as soon as possible, you'll have to suck it up and deal with them for the present moment… Let Livi take over; do what she wants with them. Once she's had her fun, she'll fix everything and put it back where it was. I promise."

Luigi looked away. "I hate… when you're right…"

Kamek stared at him a moment. "…You hesitated." He stated bluntly.

"…I wish I could say I hated _you_… but, I can't anymore…" Luigi said, his voice growing quieter and quieter.

Kamek smiled to himself. "I wish I could hate you too… that's not going to happen, though… is it?"

Luigi shook his head. "Nope. We've really done it now…"

Kamek fought the urge to laugh. Part of him wanted to burst out laughing, the other part felt like he wanted to cry. Why had he done this to himself? They had just stood there and admitted it—they were friends now. They couldn't fight each other in battle anymore. They couldn't go back to _good vs. evil _anymore. They couldn't do anything of the sort.

_Bowser… is going… to __**kill **__me… _Kamek thought grimly.

"Yo, guys!" A loud voice suddenly said from behind the group. Everyone turned around to see Mr. L running out of a split in the passageway to catch up with them. "Okay, look, we got a major problem here…"

"What about?" Luigi asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

"That chick you guys're lookin' for—" Mr. L started.

Fawful interrupted, saying, "You are meaning the one who is Livi."

Mr. L stared at him a moment, then waved him off saying, "Like it matters… _Livi_, then… Livi's in a bit… of a… um…" Mr. L was trailing off, eventually saying nothing at all. He was standing there, frozen, staring at the back of the group. His eyes widened in fear, his jaw dropping slightly. Glancing back, Luigi, Kamek, and Fawful each confirmed their identical fears…

Mr. L had seen Dimentio.

Dimentio had seen Mr. L.

_Oh shit_… Kamek thought, glancing from one to the other. The two stood a good distance apart, staring at each other, both looking stunned and scared out of their wits. No one said anything for a very long time.

At last, Mr. L broke the silence, choking out, "Dim… D-Dimentio?" He trembled slightly, looking terrified, as though his worst fears had sprung to life. Actually… they kind of had.

Dimentio said absolutely nothing. To be perfectly honest, he didn't look capable of speech anymore. He just floated there, staring at Mr. L.

After a moment or two, Mr. L trembled again. Not with fear—this time, with _rage_. His anxious face twisted into anger as his hands clenched into tight fists. He snarled, and growled through clenched teeth, _"Dimentio…"_

Without warning of any sort, the Green Thunder flung himself at the jester, catching him off guard, sending them both tumbling to the ground. It only took Mr. L a matter of seconds to gain the upper hand in the fight, Dimentio still being fairly stunned, only able to block a few harsh blows at best.

"_**YOU LOW-LIFE, TWO-FACE, BACK-STABBING DEMON! **__HOW COULD I __**EVER **__HAVE LET MYSELF TRUST YOU?" _Mr. L screamed amidst the fight.

"Oh, so suddenly, it's _my _fault that you're an idiotic, easily-tricked, mindless _puppet_?" Dimentio retorted. He was suddenly thrown into the far wall, screaming out as his head struck the sharp rocks, shattering the ice. The jester moaned, rubbing the back of his head as he struggled to sit up. Feeling a nearby presence, he looked up to see Mr. L standing over him, fists clenched, glaring down at him.

"I still don't believe you…" Mr. L growled through clenched teeth. "All I ever did was trust you, help you, risk my own life for you… and how do you thank me? You _murdered _me!"

"That's funny…" Dimentio growled, glaring up at Mr. L "I don't recall ever promising you _life_… and you are correct, you did greatly aid in my plans—by allowing me to end your game…" He added with a teasing smirk.

Mr. L growled, eyes narrowing when Dimentio smiled. "You're a monster," was all he said.

"Yes…" Dimentio paused, wincing in pain as he tried to sit up. "I am a monster." He finally admitted. "I always have been. You aren't the first to have noticed."

"No, I'm just the one who paid the price." Mr. L growled.

"Oh, what are you going on about?" Dimentio asked, dripping with sarcasm.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" Mr. L snapped, enraged. "Don't you?"

Dimentio didn't reply. "Well?" Mr. L prompted, making the jester flinch as he looked away.

"A'right, then… here's a little refresher for ya…" Mr. L growled, suddenly very close to Dimentio, resting one hand on either side of him on the rocky walls. Dimentio pressed his back up against the wall, but he couldn't get far enough away from him.

"_You're _the one who snatched the Chaos Heart…" Mr. L hissed, his voice dropping to a spine-tingling whisper. "_You're _the one who tried to destroy all the worlds… _You're _the one who read the stupid book… _You're _the one who tried to kill the Count… _You're _the one who turned around and stabbed every one of your friends in the back… isn't that right?"

Dimentio took a shaky breath, turning his head away. "And somehow… _I'm _the one who gets banished to the Underwhere for it! For everything _you _did!" Dimentio flinched when Mr. L yelled.

There was silence for a while. "You don't even _care_… do you?" Mr. L growled. He grabbed Dimentio's jaw, forcing the jester to look up at him. "Look at me!" He yelled. "I'm _dead_! Because of _you_! I took the fall down here for you—and _you_, meanwhile, get a second freaking chance!"

Dimentio clenched his teeth, fighting back the urge to scream at the top of his lungs everything he'd had to suffer through to _earn _his redemption, and he was still only halfway there. He just kept telling himself that, especially in this position, he couldn't let Mr. L see how weak he truly was.

So, the jester, desperate to get away, did the only thing he knew to do in such a predicament. Keeping his hand carefully close to the ground, he poised his fingers to snap. Mr. L's eyes flashed away from Dimentio's for an instant, well-trained to notice the miniscule movement, and Dimentio was instantly yanked up and thrown across the passageway.

The two went back to their previous fighting, rolling around the dirt floor, hitting, kicking, and clawing at each other, both of them desperate beyond measure to gain the upper hand. Unfortunately, that victory fell once again to Mr. L. The Green Thunder wound up on top of Dimentio, grabbing his hands to drive them into the sharp shards of fragmented ice they had kicked up. The jester screamed out in pain, trying in vain to either snap his fingers or wrench his arm out of Mr. L's painful grip—neither of which proved effective.

"You're tryin' to kill me again, ain't ya?" Mr. L growled, grinning like mad. "Good luck…"

Dimentio suddenly stopped struggling as Mr. L leaned in close to him, glaring daggers at the jester and wearing the sadistic smile he had previously worn so proudly. "You can't kill a ghost…" Mr. L hissed to him. "Looks like _you're _the one in trouble this time, eh, Dimmy?"

Dimentio started to panic, gasping for breath and struggling madly. He couldn't let Mr. L kill him now—but if he didn't do something quick, his game was as good as over. He couldn't let it end like this. He had finally found his savior (or, rather, she had kidnapped him) and she was supposed to finally free him. He couldn't give up now.

He _wouldn't _give up now. Dimentio kicked his feet up, driving them into Mr. L's gut and shoving him off. It worked in getting him off, but Dimentio's hands were still caught in the Green Thunder's. He couldn't work any magic like this. So, the two simply wound up rolling across the floor again, Dimentio simply trying and repeatedly failing to keep Mr. L off of him. He'd just have to keep buying time—but just how long could he keep that up?

* * *

Kamek smacked Luigi upside the head. "Will you knock it off? This is serious!"

"I am being serious!" Luigi said, rubbing his sore head. "I said 'Why can't we just let them kill each other'?"

"Because then the fangirl of obsessions will have the killing of _us_!" Fawful snapped.

"And _besides that_…" Kamek said, glaring at Fawful. "…because it's the right thing to do. You're a hero, aren't you? Stop their fighting!"

"Well, you're a villain, aren't _you_?" Luigi retorted. "Let them fight."

Kamek growled, clapping a hand over his face. "Look… we don't have time to argue about something stupid like this!"

The argument was interrupted by a loud shriek of pain. The two brawlers had rolled over to a group of sharp rock formations on the ground, one of which Dimentio had bashed his head on. In that fleeting moment of shock, Mr. L had him pinned down again.

"Luigi, we have to _do _something!" Kamek begged, realizing quickly that they were running out of time.

Mr. L grabbed Dimentio's throat with one hand, choking him. Dimentio didn't even bother with snapping, his freed hands instantly flying to claw at Mr. L's hand as it wound tighter and tighter around his throat, completely strangling him.

"Why should we?" Luigi said, shrugging off-handedly. "I do good for them—it's hell for me. Give me a good reason why I should save them."

Mr. L's knee suddenly kicked into Dimentio's gut, making him quickly cough out the last he had of air. Dimentio's eyes widened in fear as he fought to breathe, still clawing at Mr. L's hand.

"Because you're a hero!" Kamek snapped, angry now. "You're supposed to _help _others, _no matter what_! I told you already to stop acting like an _idiot _and get over this, didn't I?"

Obviously, strangling his rival was too slow a death for Mr. L's liking. He leaned over Dimentio to grab a large, heavy-looking chunk of rock. Dimentio started to struggle frantically as a malicious grin crept across Mr. L's face—he, apparently, planning to bash the jester's mask in with it.

"Well, too bad… I'll put up with them all you want, but there's no way I'll save either of their lives…" Luigi spat. He glared at Kamek, gesturing to the other two with a wave of his arm. "If you want them saved so bad, go separate them yourself."

"You think I can't?" Kamek challenged. "Fine, watch."

"You're tired." Luigi reminded him as Kamek hesitantly approached Mr. L and Dimentio, neither of which noticed him. "You won't be able to do much magic and keep that light going later."

Kamek smirked at him. "Who needs magic?" He asked, and proceeded to strike Mr. L harshly over the head with the orb on the end of his wand.

Mr. L took a dizzied look in his eyes, swaying back and forth slightly. Just as his grip began to relax on the jester's throat, Kamek grabbed Mr. L by the back of his scarf and yanked him off of Dimentio. Dimentio quickly scrambled out of the way, taking in heavy gulps of air.

Kamek yanked back on Mr. L's scarf to restrain him from Dimentio. Mr. L ignored the scarf choking him and threw the rock in Dimentio's direction. He hardly managed to scramble out of the way, the rock striking him harshly on the back, knocking him to the ground. Mr. L lashed out, attempting to grab him again, but was cut off by Kamek, allowing Dimentio to scramble a few feet away to catch his breath.

Kamek sighed to himself as Luigi came over and took Mr. L from him, hooking his arms beneath his twin's to hold him back, Dimentio casting him a very grateful look. These two were going to need a _lot _of work. Livi wasn't going to be very happy when they caught up to her…

* * *

How long had she been playing this ridiculous game? Hours? Days? _Years_? She had no idea… time flew by so fast down here—or did it stand still?

Another scream rang out through the chamber as a cluster of icicles struck the wall—destroying her temporary refuge. Whatever the timing—she had no time for questions. Shoving off the wall, Livi took off running yet again.

Her lungs were on fire, her muscles burning, her head aching, her face stained with tears. She couldn't keep this up much longer—she knew that much.

_Why is he doing this to me? _Livi thought, panicked, as her feet glided over the ice—more skating that running. _I haven't done anything except lost my way! And now Bonechill wants to kill me?_

There was another wall up ahead. Livi was already sore from running, bruised from innumerable crashes onto unforgiving ice, and cut and bleeding in a few places from razor-sharp fragments of glittering shards. She couldn't afford another hit.

Throwing her feet sideways and kicking up mist, Livi tried to stop on the sleek ice. Mistake number one.

Another icicle barely missed her, the impact harshly throwing her sideways. She hit the wall anyway, tumbling down to wind up sprawled-out on the floor. No time to waste—she quickly pulled herself up and looked straight ahead.

Never in all her life had Livi been so happy to see a dark, creepy-looking cave.

_The exit! _Livi thought as she regained her footing. _I'm free! _The fangirl jumped up and started forward, exhausting every bit of strength she had left. She had to get out of here, and she was almost there.

Suddenly, Bonechill was right in front of her. She could have beat him, maybe, if she had pressed a little harder.

But, no. She hesitated, screeching to a halt. Mistake number two.

Bonechill's skeleton-fist slammed into Livi, throwing her backwards against a wall, indenting the ice slightly. Livi braced herself against the cracked ice, pushing her back against the wall in an attempt to avoid the giant monster towering over her, growling menacingly. Run? No. Dodge? No.

Terrified, she froze. Mistake number three.

_Strike three… and I'm out… _The fangirl grimly thought, shutting her eyes tight.

Reflexively, she threw her hands up over her head, a desperate and futile attempt to shield herself from the freezing winds that spewed out of Bonechill's mouth. At alarming speeds, the mist began to solidify, forming new ice that quickly crept over her skin, fusing her into the wall. Her blood froze to a stand-still in her veins. Her mind refused to function. Soon, she couldn't move at all—not even open her eyes.

As her mind dimmed to darkness, the fangirl saw a few final thoughts. Thoughts of this crazy scheme she now bitterly regretted… thoughts of her dear fandoms, which were now lost without her… thoughts of Mr. L, who she would never get to meet…

And thoughts of Luigi… her closest friend… who she would never see again…


	14. Rescue Mission

Dimentio floated silently through the darkness, chasing after the other fandoms. He was hanging at the back of the group, to distance himself from Mr. L, who was leading the way. Fawful and Luigi, quick and light-footed as they were, were closely following. Kamek, though he had previously been keeping pace with Luigi, now slowed to follow beside Dimentio.

"Hey… are you alright?" Kamek asked bluntly.

"Fine." Dimentio said, stifling a growl.

"…No, you're not… don't lie to me, Dimentio…" Kamek said, eyes narrowing.

Dimentio snarled at the Magikoopa. "Well, what do you think, after the beating I just took, hm? I can't believe I let him best me like that… Had it not been for you, I might have gotten a rather painful game over…"

"You're welcome…" Kamek said, smiling slightly.

Dimentio rolled his eyes. "What are you up to, eh, Kamek? What is my well-being to you? None of the others care a bit about me… why should you be so determined to help me out?"

Kamek shook his head. "It's not like that. I _don't _care a bit about you… but, the fact is, until Livi finally releases us, we're all stuck in this together… you've seen what can happen when we fight—so we might as well get along… if Livi's happy, maybe she can get us out of this mess…"

"Who cares about a stupid fangirl?" Dimentio sneered, his nose in the air.

"Good question… but, one would think _some _would hold her at high value… should she be able to serve as a… _savior_, perhaps?" Kamek suggested, smiling smugly.

Dimentio stopped dead in his tracks, staring stunned at Kamek. The Magikoopa also paused a few feet ahead, turning around to face the jester. "Look… I know what's going on with you—this whole curse deal… I'm fairly certain all of us do at this point… but, the thing is… you can't get out of this mess without Livi—so you might as well keep her happy."

That being said, Kamek turned and chased after the others, who were long-gone by this point, dropping the matter entirely. Dimentio felt himself sinking down until his feet touched the cold, stone floor. The thing was… Kamek was right. Dimentio _hated _that. Of course, to get what _he _wanted, he would have to give the fangirl what _she _wanted. Unfortunately, that included getting on peaceful terms with Luigi and Mr. L.

_Luigi's been nothing but cruel to me since I've been shanghaied into this… _Dimentio thought bitterly, floating off to catch up with the others. _And getting Mr. L's forgiveness __**certainly **__isn't going to be easy… or perhaps even __**possible **__at this point…_

_Oh, Jaydes help me… What am I going to do now?_

* * *

The five fandoms found themselves gathered outside a large opening in the tunnels, framed with thick sheets of ice similar to the opening Mr. L had previously found. This opening, however, let out to the ground, and was a doorway of sorts leading into the cavern.

This was the very heart of the passages. The gateway to Bonechill's Prison.

In a corner of the room slept the giant beast himself, curled up in a ball before a large, ice-carved door. This door, no doubt, lead down to the millions of individual hells the worst of the worst were locked away in. Dimentio recalled with a heavy shudder the day he had been dragged down there himself, locked away for months and months before Jaydes came to let him out.

The most peculiar thing in the chamber, however, was the walls. Upon closer inspection, the millions that were bad enough for the Prison, but not bad enough for their own personal hell, were frozen into the wall. One of these bodies on the far side of the room had particularly caught the fandoms' attention…

"Is that…" Fawful stammered. "Is th-that… being…"

Dimentio looked sick to his stomach. "No… it can't be… she couldn't have—"

"Oh, yeah, she did…" Mr. L said, nodding grimly. "We're too late…"

"You saw?" Luigi asked, his expression similar to Dimentio's.

"Yeah, I saw 'im chasin' her around…" Mr. L said. "He musta caught her when I went to get you guys."

"Why didn't you help her, then?" Luigi hissed.

"Like I didn't wanna! I was way up there!" Mr. L leaned out of the passage a bit to gesture to one of the few openings in the bright, glittering walls. "There wan'nt no way down to her 'cept for a five hundred foot drop!"

Luigi groaned and turned back to Livi. "Do you think she's still alive?"

"Depends on how long she's been there…" Kamek said, shaking his head. "If she's got any chance, we need to figure out a way to get her out—quick."

"Am I to assume you have a plan?" Dimentio asked Mr. L, at the risk of angering him again. "Or would like me to come up with one?"

"No thanks… I'd rather not get game-overed _again_…" Mr. L snarled, shooting him a nasty glare.

Kamek clapped him in the back of the head. "Could you two stop it for _five minutes_, please? This is kind of serious!"

"Alright, alright, Mr. Mommy…" Mr. L sneered. "You guys follow me…" Before anyone could argue, Mr. L took off, expertly skating across the sleek ice.

"Are you possessing insanity?" Fawful hissed, hesitantly following after him.

"Seriously, Mr. L, even _you _have to have more sense than that!" Luigi agreed, casting an anxious glance in Bonechill's direction.

Dimentio, being able to float faster than Mr. L could skate, popped up beside him, whispering to him sweetly. "How would like me to assist, Mr. L?"

"Buzz off, clown-face…" Mr. L snapped.

"Clown-face? That's a new one… how long did it take you to come up with that?" Dimentio mocked, smirking. "Anyway, I'm not here to pick fights—I honestly want to help…"

"Lessee, where have I heard that one before?" Mr. L sarcastically mumbled.

"Oh, come on… we made quite the team, didn't we?" Dimentio asked hopefully.

"Yeah, until you stabbed me in the back!" Mr. L hissed, screeching to a halt. "What does it take to get rid of you, huh? Why won't you just _leave me __**alone**_?"

"_Why can't you doofus-heads just leave me alone?" The little green girl shrieked, tears streaming down her face._

"_Leave you alone?" Dimentio laughed through his ecstatic grin. "And what fun would that be for us, my dear?"_

"_That's not funny!" Mimi shrieked. "Give it back already!"_

_Mr. L started to flip through the pages of the little pink book. It was the furry one—that said 'MIMI' in lovely cursive, and had rainbows and hearts all over it. "C'mon, Mims, you know this isn't the __**first **__time we've had your Diary…"_

_Mimi blushed with rage. "I'm gonna tell Nassy on you two!"_

"_Oh, that's a threat, eh, Mr. L?" Dimentio chuckled, elbowing his companion._

"_Aw, yeah, I'm real scared now, Mims…" Mr. L said, sarcastically rolling his eyes as he flipped to the last entry._

"_I'm warning you, doofus!" Mimi shrieked. "Don't you dare read it!"_

_Mr. L cleared his throat, and started to read, "'Dear Diary… omigosh, Dimmy was just __**so **__sweet today! He totally told me I looked cute! Like, omigosh, can you, like, believe it? Squee! Omigosh omigosh, I swear, sometimes I think I'm __**in love**__!' Aw, how cute!"_

_Mimi was crying now, glaring up at them from behind bitter tears. "STOP THAT!"_

"_Why, Mimi!" Dimentio gasped in fake pleasure. "I had no __**idea **__you felt that way about me!" Mr. L couldn't read anymore for cracking up as soon as it was out of Dimentio's mouth._

"_No, I don't!" Mimi shrieked, stomping her foot. "That's totally not what it says!"_

"_Yeah, it does!" Mr. L said, showing the book to Dimentio. "See? Says so right there!"_

"_Ah, yes, I see, I see…" Dimentio said with a smile, although that particular passage had absolutely nothing to do with the jester. "You wrote it yourself, Mimi—I can't believe you wouldn't remember such a thing!"_

"_No! Stoppit!" Mimi wailed. "Give it back to me!"_

"_If you want it so bad, why don't you come and get it, huh?" Mr. L sneered, waving the book back and forth._

"…_Fine! I __**will**__!" With that, Mimi threw her head to one side, and exploded into her monstrous form. Within seconds she was scurrying up the walls towards the banisters where the troublesome two were hiding from her._

"_Oh, shit!" Mr. L screamed, jumping to his feet._

_Dimentio smacked the back of his head. "What the hell did you say that for, huh? Now, we're really in for it!"_

Mr. L and Dimentio stood there for what seemed like ages, simply staring each other down. Neither looked angry, and neither looked frightened as they previously had. They were both thinking—remembering, rather—the unforgettable memories of their idiotic antics clouding each of their minds.

Dimentio's lips slightly twitched into a smile. "…are you going to, ah, answer my question?"

Mr. L stared at him a moment, then bowed his head to the floor and mumbled something.

"What was that?" Dimentio said, smiling wider. "We were a good team, weren't we?"

"Yeah, we _were_…" Mr. L growled, pushing past him. "…not anymore… I won't let you trick me twice…"

Dimentio's smile fell as he hung his head, slowly following the Green Thunder. "Whatever you say… _Mr. L_…"

The fandoms silently gathered around Livi's crystal coffin, Mr. L running his gloved hands delicately over the sleek ice. "So… this is the fangirl, huh? Livi, right?"

Luigi nodded, resting a hand on the ice. "Yeah, this is her… only she could get herself into a mess like this…"

"Heh… I believe ya…" Mr. L said, smirking to himself.

"Shhh… guys, keep quiet!" Kamek hissed, glancing anxiously towards Bonechill. "With our dumb luck, he'll wake up in a matter of minutes… how are we supposed to get Livi out?"

Mr. L sighed, whispering, "Well… the only thing I can think of is for me and Weegee could pull a thunder-punch… it'd be more than enough to shatter the ice, but if that's the case, it'd be pretty freakin' loud…"

Dimentio raised a hand, taking back his sarcastic grin. "Question, L?"

"What?" Mr. L quietly snapped, glaring at him.

"Couldn't I just teleport her out?" The jester whispered, pointing a finger in the fangirl's direction.

Kamek shook his head. "That's too risky… it isn't like slipping her out of the moat… she's become part of the ice—and if you try to separate them, there's no telling what would happen."

"Alright then…" Dimentio snapped his fingers, allowing colored lights to dance on his fingertips. "Might I request permission to blow it up then? You know I am quite skilled… with magic!"

"Uh, no." Mr. L said, leaning against the ice. "Weegee and I know how to _control _crap like this… _You _blow up the wall, you're gonna blow her up with it…"

"Ah…" Dimentio said, vanishing his magic and looking a tad dejected. "Point taken…"

"And what are the rest of us to have doing of?" Fawful inquired, glancing between the others.

"Just… keep watch…" Mr. L said, waving him off. "Make sure nuthin happens that ain't s'posed to…"

"I am thinking you will be noticing if _that _possesses awakeness." Fawful snapped, pointing at Bonechill.

"Oh, will you just shut up and watch?" Mr. L hissed. He then stepped back from the ice, balling up a fist. "Ready, Weegee?"

Luigi charged up a small ball of electricity in the palm of his hand. "As I'll ever be… are you _sure _this is going to work?"

"Not a clue…" Mr. L shrugged, drawing his fist back. Before his counterpart could argue, he shouted out, "Ready, aim, FIRE!"

Simultaneously, Mr. L's fist and Luigi's blast of lightning collided with the wall, shattering the thick ice into millions of sparkling fragments that flew across the floor. With the shards, Livi fell out, collapsing to the ground among the glittering mist where she lay, completely unmoving.

Kamek knelt down next to Livi and gently rolled her over onto her back. Her cheeks, nose, and fingers were tinged with a pale blue, and the rest of her skin was a deathly pale shade of white. Kamek placed his hand lightly on her chest, then moved to press his fingers to her throat and finally to her wrist.

"…She's alive…" He breathed at last. "Her pulse is extremely faint, but it is still there…"

A sigh of relief seemed to echo around the remaining four fandoms. Luigi came over and knelt next to Kamek, gently brushing Livi's bangs out of her still, lifeless face. "Do you think she'll live?"

Kamek slowly shook his head. "Impossible to tell at this point… We'll have to get her out of this cave, then I might be able to help her… but, it's too cold for her down here—we'll have to get her out quickly."

"If _we _can get out of here, that is…" Mr. L murmured, staring stunned into the distance.

"Oh my…" Dimentio sighed, following Mr. L's gaze. "It would seem, like a chorus of singing birds—oblivious to the hunting cat, we've obsessed over Livi—"

"And not noticed Bonechill…" Luigi finished.

All five fandoms looked on in fear as Bonechill slowly rose up to his full height, then spun around to face them and release a loud, menacing roar.

"Wh-what are we to be d-do-doing?" Fawful stammered.

Luigi jumped up, taking on a fighting stance. "I've fought him before… I can take him again…"

"Not with Livi in here!" Kamek pointed out. "She's a dead-weight in this condition! It's too dangerous!"

Mr. L watched them argue a moment, then yelled, "Alright, that's enough! We don't have time for this shit!" He snatched up Livi's limp form, slinging her over his shoulder, saying, "I'll take the fangirl, alright? You said yourself she can't stay here much longer. Without her in the way, you might have a chance on Bonechill, but I'll need you to distract him so I can get her outta here!"

Luigi nodded hastily. "Alright, can you get out on your own?"

Mr. L rolled his eyes. "Please, I've been following Luvbi around for the past few months. If I can get _in _this much trouble, believe me, I know how to get outta it…"

Just as he was starting to run off towards the exit, Dimentio caught his free arm, forcing him to stop. "Wait! You can't do that! It was enough trouble finding the two of you the first time around!"

"Look, idiot, we ain't got time for this, a'right?" Mr. L yelled. "You wanna save 'er, doncha?"

"Of course I do!" Dimentio snapped. "But, I—"

"Look, I know what I'm doing here! Let me handle this!" Mr. L retorted.

Just as Dimentio opened his mouth to say something else, a shower of icicles rained down from the ceiling, forcing the two of them apart. The other fandoms scurried out of the way, starting up the fight with Bonechill. As soon as Dimentio's head cleared and he came back to his senses, he saw Mr. L headed back towards the tunnel, still clutching the fangirl.

"Mr. L!" Dimentio called after him.

The Green Thunder whipped around at his name. "Trust me, Dimentio!"

Dimentio gasped aloud. He couldn't think of a single thing to say to that.

"Dimentio, _please_, I'm beggin' ya…" Mr. L pleaded, anxious to get out. "I know what I'm doing! Trust me!"

Dimentio shook his head. "N-no…" He choked out. "You don't have a clue what you're doing!"

"Trust me anyway!" Mr. L yelled, looking a little angry now. "I trusted you all that time… Even when I didn't have a clue what you were doing… even when I _knew _you were going to stab me in the back… I always trusted you…"

"…why?" Dimentio asked.

"Because…" Mr. L looked away. "…because I… you were…" He gulped. "Because you were my best friend. That's what friends do—they trust each other… through _everything_."

Dimentio was stunned for a very long time. Finally, he bowed his head and flicked his wrist towards the tunnels. "Alright then… I trust you… go ahead, and take care of her for me…"

Mr. L smiled, looking relieved. With that, he dashed out of the chamber into the dark tunnels.

As he disappeared, Dimentio sighed heavily, then turned back to the fight. Bonechill was being well-distracted, his anger growing by the second. Watching the beast desperately fight off his attackers, the jester's thoughts drifted back into his memories of his little hell. He remembered desperately pleading with the merciless master of the Prison, and he remembered how Bonechill had only _laughed _at the sorrowed shrieks of his victims.

Dimentio smiled, snapping his fingers. A small orb of glittering, colored light flared up in each of his gloved hands. He completely ignored the stabbing sensation of his curse, realizing it had been much, much too long since he'd had a fight.

_I warned you, Bonechill… _the jester thought, a malicious grin creeping across his mask. _One has never known true torture… until one has known of __**revenge**__…_


	15. Up and Out

Mr. L ran as hard and as fast as he could through the never-ending tunnels. He didn't have a clue where he was going. He didn't even care if it was _out_. He just wanted to get away from Bonechill.

He _had _to get far, far away from that Prison. He tightened his grip on Livi. The unconscious figure slung over his shoulder was the only thing keeping Mr. L's thoughts on track. His thoughts were drifting away to Dimentio again, and reminding himself over and over that Livi needed him to live was the only thing that kept him from thinking about that horribly demented jester.

_He deserves to die_. Mr. L thought bitterly, growling under his breath. He deserved much, much worse than death. Dimentio deserved to be forced to endure every tiny fragment of pain he'd ever caused to anyone. _Then_, he'd have to live through the agony he'd put Luigi and Mr. L both through. One thousand fold. For the rest of eternity. And possibly even longer than that.

No. _Definitely _longer. Until even Bonechill wouldn't be able to see the Master of Dimensions in so much agony. And then he'd _still _have to continue enduring it.

As Dimentio's demise played over and over in Mr. L's mind, an eager grin spreading across his face, he suddenly felt Livi shift. A low moan of discomfort came from over his shoulder. Mr. L slowed to a stop, gently taking Livi off of his shoulder. He carefully set her down on the cold floor, leaning her against the wall as she swayed back and forth, struggling to regain consciousness.

Groaning still, Livi slowly managed to open her eyes, though it didn't do her much good in the darkness. Mr. L saw the fangirl stare up at him for a very long time, not saying anything. Finally, her small, feeble voice came through the darkness. "…Weegee?"

Livi weakly lifted a hand towards Mr. L's face. He took her slender hand in his, feeling her icy touch through his thick gloves, and started to soothingly rub it. "I don't think we've met yet." He whispered with a smirk. "I'm Mr. L."

Through the darkness, he heard Livi inhale sharply. "Mr.… Mr. L?"

Mr. L nodded. He reached out and stroked her face. "It's alright… I'm gonna take good care of ya, okay?"

Livi didn't seem to hear him. He could barely make out that her head was moving slightly—she was looking around the cave. "Where… are the… others? Have you… seen them?"

"Yeah, I have. Don't worry 'bout them, okay? They're fine… They distracted Bonechill so I could get you out. Are you alright? You ain't hurt, are ya?"

"No… I'm fine…" Livi mumbled, shaking her head slowly but stubbornly. "Just… really… _really_… cold…"

Mr. L smiled, scooping her up into his arms. "Alright, then… what do you say we get outta here, huh?"

"Fine by me." Livi said, winding her fingers in his shirt and burying her cold face in his chest. "I'm really… glad I… found you…"

Mr. L tried to keep his pace slow, knowing she must be light-headed. "Well, technically, _I _found _you_…" He childishly argued, trying to keep her talking.

"Yeah, yeah…" Livi sighed. He felt her hand lightly tap on his chest—he assumed she was waving him off. Mr. L froze in surprise as Livi's head jerked up, like she had just realized something. "Dimentio." She stated clearly.

Mr. L stared at her a moment, utterly stunned. "…what?"

"Dimentio." She repeated. "Did you guys find him?"

Mr. L looked away, continuing down the tunnels. "Oh yeah… we found him alright…"

"Is he okay?" Livi asked desperately, the fingers in Mr. L's shirt clenching into tight fists.

Mr. L took a long time to answer, part of him wishing he could lie about the jester's well-being and make it so. "Yeah…" He finally sighed. "He's a'right…"

Livi sighed deeply, as though incredibly relieved, then slowly nestled back into her previous position. "Didja meet him?"

"Oh, I met him alright…"

"Were you… ya know… mad at him?"

"Yeah… mad as freakin' hell…" Mr. L could hear the growl in his own voice.

"Are you over it yet?"

Mr. L glanced down at the half-asleep fangirl. "…huh?"

"Being mad…" Livi clarified. "Are you through being mad yet?"

Mr. L paused for a while. "…maybe…" He answered at last.

Livi moved slightly, and Mr. L suddenly felt her cold arms winding around his neck, her head resting on his shoulder. "I guess that's good enough…"

Mr. L didn't answer, looking away from her. He felt Livi take a deep breath, then sigh, "He won't hurt you, ya know…"

Mr. L said nothing.

Livi looked up at him again. "I won't let him. You know that… right?"

Mr. L slowly shook his head. "It's gonna take more than a spazzy, trouble-making fangirl to stop Dimentio…"

Livi smirked sleepily, shrugging her shoulders as she laid back down. "I dunno… you'd be surprised what a stupid little fangirl can do…"

That was about when Mr. L saw it. Up ahead. It wasn't light, or anything close, but it might as well have been the sun compared to the darkness they were currently trapped in.

_The Underwhere_. He realized with a jolt. They had made it—they were finally out. Livi yelped with surprise when he took off running full-speed towards the exit. Mr. L didn't even notice.

* * *

Luigi crashed into the wall of ice as he was thrown sideways from the impact of the explosion. "Can't you aim any better than that?" He called out into the chaos.

"Sorry! My bad!" Dimentio's melodic voice called back as the jester teleported in and out at random. He suddenly appeared next to Luigi and started to help him up. "It's a bit tricky while trying to dodge. I think this monstrosity is convinced that _we _are the newest additions to his collection!"

Luigi shoved Dimentio off of him, ignoring the ramblings completely. "Just, try to be more careful, alright?"

Dimentio bowed low. "As you wish!" With that, he teleported into the confusion once again. Luigi sighed as he left, shaking his head. Sometimes that annoying little jester had more sides than a rubix cube.

Trying not to think about that, Luigi knelt low to the ground, powering up for a high-jump. Suddenly, he launched off the ground and in half a second he had collided with Bonechill's skull, scattering the pixilated fragments everywhere. Luigi somehow managed to land on a small cliff of ice jutting out from the wall. From his new perch, he surveyed the confusion below him.

Fawful was on the ground, running from and cleverly dodging Bonechill's icicles as he shot the fireballs Kamek had conjured up for him at the beast. Living with Cackletta so long had taught him well. Kamek circled overhead on his broomstick, using some sort of levitation spell to stop the icicles before they hit the ground and swing them back to hit Bonechill. Dimentio teleported in and out, appearing all around the monster, trying to confuse him while hitting him left and right with all the bombs and explosions he could manage.

Luigi felt a smile playing at his lips. _Bonechill's getting weaker by the second… _he realized as he charged up a small ball of electricity, _and he hasn't touched one of us yet! We'll be out of here in no time!_

Luigi released the lightning with much more force than he'd expected. As the shock momentarily stunned the beast, the other fandoms started to hit full-force, nearly doubling the strength of their attacks. Bonechill let loose an earsplitting shriek, flailing his arms wildly around. The fandoms each let out a cheer, realizing how quickly Bonechill was falling, and continued their attacks.

Suddenly, they all stopped as Dimentio's scream pierced the room. Luigi quickly scanned the room, searching for the jester, but came up empty. Dimentio had teleported out of this dimension. Then, he found him. Dimentio materialized, still screaming, trapped in the monster's bone-crushing grip, his claws digging in harshly. With sickening horror, Luigi realized what had happened—Dimentio wasn't teleporting, he had been invisible, and Bonechill had finally managed to locate and grab him.

Bonechill didn't waste a split second, recognizing his escaped prisoner with a shriek of rage. The monster slammed Dimentio up against the ice, earning him another scream, the ice cracking all around him. _**"You thought you could escape ME, jester?" **_Bonechill roared. He then released a flurry of the deadly freezing mists, still pinning Dimentio up to the wall.

Luigi was hardly thinking when he reacted, in total shock at what he was seeing. He knelt down, powering up, then released himself into a high-jump. At the last second, however, he kicked powerfully off the wall behind him, so instead of shooting upwards, he went straight for Bonechill's head.

It worked. By some amazing, miraculous stroke of fate, it worked. Luigi crashed into the great beast's skull, shattering the very last of the pixilated fragments that clung to his skull. Bonechill's head slammed up against the wall from the impact, cracking the ice. Luigi jumped down from his head, watching Dimentio's limp form slide out of Bonechill's claws.

Kamek swooped in on his broomstick, snatching the unconscious jester out of thin air and carrying him well away from the Prison-keeper. Luigi, meanwhile, landed roughly on the ground, skating off and jerking Fawful out of the way just before the unconscious Bonechill hit the ground with a heavy thud, knocking a large dent in the floor.

Luigi skidded to a stop on the ice, pausing a moment to catch his breath and watch Bonechill carefully, making sure he wasn't about to get up. "Uh… Luigi?" He heard Fawful say, still being firmly gripped in his arms. The hero turned his gaze down to the child, and noticed him point towards the ground where Bonechill had hit.

Luigi didn't even have to ask—it was pretty hard to miss. Radiating from the spot Bonechill had hit, the ice had begun to crack. It wasn't small splits in the ice, it was more like huge tunnels being carved out, being large enough for a human to jump into at some spots. Luigi took off skating towards the exit, calling out to the other two. Fawful was still tight in his arms, and Kamek was just a ways behind them, carrying Dimentio on his broomstick.

Miraculously, they made it. Just as large chunks of ice began to shoot up from the ground as the floor started to cave in on itself, all four fandoms stumbled into the dark cave passages. None dared to stop, or even look back. They kept running into the darkness until they were all too sore to even try anymore…

* * *

As Luigi stopped running, setting Fawful down on the ground, Kamek vanished his broomstick, dropping down to the cold cave floor to join them. Everyone suddenly perked up as the usually-soundless spell produced a loud thud behind the Magikoopa.

Uncertainly, Kamek held up his wand, murmuring the indications for a light spell. As the dim glow from the wand lit up the room, all the fandoms audibly gasped. Dimentio lay on the ground, completely unmoving, right where the broomstick had dropped him.

Kamek instantly rushed to his side, turning the jester onto his back and feeling along his head and chest. Luigi and Fawful came over to peer over the Magikoopa's shoulder. "Is he having alrightness?" Fawful wondered aloud.

"Does it look like it?" Luigi asked, his voice sounding cold.

"Now, Luigi… it doesn't look _that _bad…" Kamek lied, feeling the icy cold of Dimentio's skin and the painful bruises that lined his chest.

Kamek didn't even have to look up to know Luigi had raised an eyebrow, giving him a skeptic look. "I said it wasn't _that _bad…" Kamek clarified. "I never said it wasn't _bad_."

"But… his is only possessing the unconsciousness…" Fawful asked, walking around Kamek for a better view. "Just like the fangirl… yessing?"

"I sure hope so… we can simply wait that off…" Kamek ran his hand over Dimentio's chest. "He's lucky… Bonechill was very careful not to damage him. There's no blood, no broken bones, just a few bruises here and there… It's almost as though he were trying to preserve the body…"

As Kamek said it, Dimentio shifted slightly, giving a low, barely audible groan.

"…Dimentio?" Kamek asked as he recovered from the slight shock. "Are you alright?"

"Can he even hear us?" Luigi whispered to Kamek. Kamek said nothing, simply waving him off as he pulled Dimentio into a semi-sitting position.

Dimentio seemed to slowly regain himself, leaning slightly on Kamek to push himself up. Finally, rubbing his head with one hand, he managed to open his glowing eyes and glance around warily. "Ugh… if you're all still here…" He slowly mumbled. "Am I to presume… he's locked me away in hell?"

Kamek smiled slightly, relieved Dimentio was getting back to his old self. "Nope. Still alive and well."

Dimentio groaned much louder than necessary and released Kamek, flopping back down with his hands over his face.

Kamek laughed, pushing himself off the ground. "Sorry to disappoint…"

Dimentio, rather begrudgingly, managed to sit up with Kamek's help, then pulled himself into a standing position. After quite a while of trying to find his balance, Dimentio tested his magic a bit and started to levitate a few inches off the ground. This went on for some time, each of the fandoms trying to regain themselves. Finally, Dimentio being positively repulsed by the fact that he was still alive and the other three fandoms ready to be on their way, the group continued their search for the exit.

After a few moments of wandering through the tunnels, everyone lightened up a bit. Dimentio and Fawful were a ways ahead of the other two, chattering about something stupid Kamek wasn't listening to. Making sure that both of them were well distracted, Kamek turned to Luigi and quietly caught his attention. "Um… Luigi?"

Luigi snapped out of the daze he appeared in, keeping his voice as low as Kamek's. "Yeah?"

"You really bailed Dimentio out back there…" Kamek quietly noted, his gaze returning to the jester. "If you hadn't finished off Bonechill… there's no telling what would have happened."

Luigi shifted his eyes to the ground, looking grim. "…I'm a hero." He said after a long pause. "It was just a reflex…"

"Luigi…" Kamek said gently, as if to say _Oh, come on. _

Luigi didn't say anything. He just kept staring at the ground. Kamek turned fully to look Luigi in the face. "Look… even if it _was _just a reflex—"

"It was nothing, okay?" Luigi hissed, glaring at Kamek.

"You saved Dimentio's _life._" Kamek snapped, raising his voice ever so slightly.

Each of them suddenly stopped talking, noticing Dimentio and Fawful fall completely silent. Kamek noticed Dimentio turn slightly to glance over his shoulder at the other two, silently praying the jester hadn't heard them.

If he _had _heard them, he chose to ignore it, because he whispered something to Fawful, sending the child into high-pitched giggles. Kamek felt a slight twinge of happiness when Dimentio smiled at Fawful's laughter, and the two were quickly chattering again.

After making sure they had forgotten the interruption completely, Kamek turned to face Luigi again, only to find that he had stopped a few feet back. The hero was simply standing there, stunned, staring at the ground, breathing rather shakily.

"Luigi?" Kamek whispered, checking to make sure Dimentio and Fawful were still occupied. "You coming?"

Luigi took a few more deep breaths, then slowly nodded his head, following after Kamek as though he were in a trance.

His thoughts kept drifting away to Dimentio. He kept seeing him, over and over, just as Luigi remembered. He saw that evil grin on his mask as he held the Chaos Heart. He could see that vicious monster, the eerie darkness. He remembered the feeling of helplessness as Dimentio's control washed over him, numbing his mind to subject him to the jester's will.

Then, Luigi saw _this _Dimentio. He saw the perfect jester make a clumsy mistake, landing him in Bonechill's claws. He saw the happy-painted mask twisted in agony. Never had damage been done to Dimentio, then suddenly, that incredible pain had been too much for him.

Finally… Luigi saw the one thing that made him sick to his stomach. He saw Bonechill slowly ending the jester's game, ready to re-capture his prisoner. He saw Dimentio screaming in pain, his life slipping away from him. Then, Luigi saw himself coming to the rescue, to save the life of the one who _least _deserved it.

_That repulsive little demon… _Luigi thought bitterly. _He tried over and over to kill me—used me as a pawn in this sick little game of his… all the hell he put me and Mr. L through… he tried to destroy my friends, my home, everything I held close to my heart… to take over and enslave all worlds…_

_After he __**destroyed **__my life… how could I __**save **__his?_

Luigi shook his head in a vain attempt to clear his thoughts, but even as he trudged gloomily on after the others, he couldn't escape the truth. 'Reflexes' was a flat lie, and he knew it. Kamek was right. Luigi had saved Dimentio's life.

In spite of the events, Luigi found himself smiling. _Maybe… _he thought to himself. _Some part of me couldn't let him die just yet. _Luigi's grin widened a bit. _Then I wouldn't get to kill him myself…_


	16. Seperated Yet Again

The biting cold of the Underwhere winds seemed more like a pleasant summer breeze after being frozen in a solid block of ice for who-knows-how-long. The previously eerie darkness now seemed warm and inviting, and wasn't quite so dark anymore. With such a traumatic experience in Bonechill's Prison, what was there to fear in the Underwhere?

Livi was now on her feet again, following slowly and wobbly after Mr. L, making herself slightly dizzy from jerking her head in all directions to absorb the sights all around her. Mr. L was letting her walk around on her own now that she was more awake, but he still held onto her hand tightly, for fear Livi was going to topple over any second.

The two were currently headed off to Jaydes' Palace, to report everything that had happened in Bonechill's Prison, and to hopefully find a safe-haven of peace and sanity. Livi was hoping with all her heart that Jaydes would be able to tell them what had happened to the rest of her collection, and that the Queen could bring them all out safely. Mr. L, meanwhile, was secretly hoping that they'd come out minus one jester.

"Are we there yet?" Livi asked absentmindedly.

Mr. L winced slightly as the words met his ears. "If you say that one more time, I swear I'll freaking beat you…"

"Sorry…" Livi mumbled, hanging her head. "I'm just… anxious…"

Mr. L sighed, regretting his harshness. "I know… don't worry, okay? I'm sure they're fine… Weegee can handle it…"

"Really? How do you know?" Livi wondered, cocking her head to the side.

Mr. L laughed and flashed the fangirl an arrogant smirk. "Duh! He's _me_!"

Livi laughed in agreement. "Oh, yeah, you've got a point there! The incredible Mr. L can do _anything_, right?"

"Damn straight!" Mr. L said, smiling a bit wider. His smile fell, however, when he noticed Livi had fallen silent again, looking down at the ground. "Look… cheer up, okay?" Mr. L gently encouraged her. "We're almost to the Palace, and then Jaydes'll fix anything Weegee can't, a'right?"

Livi nodded slowly. "Alright…"

Mr. L thumped her arm a bit, telling her to look up. The two had come to a beaten path in the forest. Over in the distance, nearly hidden by trees, was the Palace. "See?" Mr. L said gently. "Jaydes is just at the end of the path."

Livi nodded in understanding, but looking around again, her eyes rested on a long range of mountains and valleys off in the distance. She had never seen them before, as they hadn't been featured in Super Paper Mario. They were beautiful, though; black as onyx, with the peaks shrouded in a deep gray mist. The dark violet sky could be seen behind them, throwing eerie shadows over the land.

Livi turned to Mr. L with an eager grin on her face. He already had a sinking feeling in his stomach, but couldn't stop her before she asked, "Mind if we take the scenic route?"

Mr. L rolled his eyes. "I thought ya might say that…" He looked warily off into the mountains. "You sure you're up for it?"

Livi nodded vigorously, bouncing in excitement.

Mr. L considered for a moment rejecting her request. However, his thoughts trailed off to the Palace, and Mr. L quickly realized that as soon as he brought the fangirl back, Jaydes would just lock him back up in his room, and who knew the next time she'd let him out? So, with the words of approval barely out of his mouth, Livi took off full-speed through the forest towards the enchanting mountains. Mr. L hurried after her, already getting a sinking feeling that that probably wasn't the smartest thing he'd ever said…

* * *

Dimentio floated up into the Underwhere, gratefully taking in a deep breath of the icy winds. Never in his life did he think it'd feel good to be back up here. Fawful emerged from the cave just behind him, glancing around in disbelief. "Are we _finally _being _out_?"

Dimentio laughed to himself. "It would seem so…"

Fawful sighed in relief, walking out into the clearing. "Thanking the evilness…"

Kamek came up soon after, with Luigi just behind him. The Magikoopa anxiously glanced around as he put out the light in his wand. "Now, where did Livi and Mr. L get to?"

Luigi groaned heavily. "I swear, if I have to go run off and find her _again_…"

"Luigi, calm down…" Kamek said gently. "Livi was unconscious last we saw her, right?"

"Yessing, so at least she cannot be doing anything possessing stupidness…" Fawful threw in.

Kamek waved him off. "Shut up, Fawful…" He turned back to Luigi. "Mr. L promised he'd bring her back to Jaydes as soon as he found her."

Luigi seemed to relax a bit at hearing that. "Oh yeah, that's right… Back to the Palace then…"

Without waiting for any of the others to respond or agree, Luigi raced off in the general direction of Jaydes' Palace. Kamek and Fawful followed close behind him, but Dimentio was lagging far behind, slowly floating along as his panicked thoughts raced in his mind.

He was thinking, and he had to think _fast_. There was no way he could face Jaydes again. Not now. Dimentio felt the painful jolt of his curse again, forcing him to pause momentarily and collect himself. The curse didn't seem to have a trigger anymore, like violence or anger, as Jaydes had set it to. Now, it simply… happened.

Dimentio had first noticed this as he, Fawful, and Livi had been searching for Mr. L. After he had knocked them both into the river, he had fled into the forest, little to no concern where the others had gone. After the pain had calmed to a bearable degree (and Dimentio recalled it had taken _hours _to do so), the nimbi child, Luvbi, had appeared. She told him what had become of Livi, and again, he felt the painful jabs. (however, that _may _have had a trigger… was it not _his _fault she had run off into the forest like that?)

There was something else that Luvbi had told him, however, which was far more upsetting. She had delivered a message from the Queen herself, saying that Dimentio was almost finished. But, what had she meant by that? Finished with _what_? His curse? His mission? His _life_?

Dimentio gulped nervously, shuddering at the thought. For the first time in a very, very long time, he was afraid. Without Livi by his side, he was as good as dead. No, he was worse than dead. He had suffered for so long in Bonechill's Prison, and somehow he had persuaded Jaydes to allow him to suffer in the mortal's realm. Should he fall back into her clutches yet again, she wouldn't be quite as merciful as previous times…

Dimentio's thoughts were interrupted by someone calling his name. Confused, the jester stopped and turned around to find none other than Mr. L running towards him. He came to a stop a few feet from Dimentio, stooped over as he panted for breath. Dimentio raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Mr.…L? Is something wrong? Where… where is Livi?"

Mr. L shook his head tiredly, refusing to look up at Dimentio. "I don't… I dunno…"

"You don't know?" Dimentio gasped in horror. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"I… I lost her…" Mr. L waved off towards the outskirts of the forest. "In the mountains… She wandered off… I didn't see…"

"What's going on?" Luigi asked, having come back after realizing Dimentio wasn't following him anymore. "Mr. L? I thought you where with Livi…"

"I was… but…" Mr. L trailed off, shifting his gaze to the side.

"Oh, Grambi… please tell me we haven't lost her again…" Kamek moaned.

Mr. L looked down at the ground. "'Fraid so… sorry, guys…"

Luigi groaned dramatically, slumping against a tree. "Crap! What is _wrong _with that girl?"

Fawful stepped up to Mr. L. "Did you have the seeing of where she had going?"

"Nu-uh…" Mr. L miserably shook his head. "She asked if we could go walk through the mountains—"

"And you _let_ her?" Dimentio snapped, growing enraged—how dare Mr. L run off with his last shot at freedom and _lose _her!

"I thought I could keep track of her!" Mr. L retorted, glaring daggers at the hated jester—as if the little liar even cared about her.

"Guys, stop!" Kamek cut in, stepping between Mr. L and Dimentio's glaring contest. "Now, look… we can yell and fight about this all day, but it's not going to get us anywhere! Livi's out there right now getting herself into more trouble, and we're standing around arguing about _nonsense_."

No one said anything for a very long time.

Dimentio was the first to relax, turning his head towards Kamek, though his eyes never left Mr. L's. "Alright then… what do you propose we do next?"

"We're going to go after her again." Kamek said firmly. "That's the only thing we _can _do."

"We've got to find Livi _fast_." Luigi suddenly said, looking sick to his stomach.

"Oh, c'mon, she'll be fine!" Mr. L said, waving him off. "It ain't like she can do much more than we've already seen…"

"Are you crazy?" Dimentio snapped. "Have you not seen what she's gotten herself into so far? Her silly little tricks are getting closer and closer to _fatal_!"

The fandoms each fell silent as the sickening realization dawned on them. Dimentio was right, of course. After all, what guarantee did they have that Livi was still alive right now?

Suddenly, Fawful perked up as a thought dawned on him, and he shattered the horrified silence with a blunt, "Why do we have caring?"

"Fawful!" Luigi gasped, somewhat shocked at his cold-heartedness.

"I am possessing seriousness!" Fawful snapped. "When we each first had the meeting of her, we all had very much that which is the _hating _of this 'Fangirl of Obsessivness'… and _now _we are all being willing to have risking of our lives for her? Why? Why do we have the carings?"

Each of the four villainous fandoms considered that statement carefully. Luigi had reason to worry, of course. He had sworn to protect Livi since the day she first entered their world. But, why should any of the other fandoms care? If anything, like Fawful, they should _want _her death and destruction.

Luigi almost smiled as he realized the answer. "You guys care about her… don't you?"

Surprisingly enough, there was no response.

Luigi couldn't help the smile spreading across his face. "Oh my Grambi… you guys _actually care _about her…"

Dimentio sighed heavily. "It would appear the troublesome child had grown on us…"

"She's done more than just that…" Kamek pointed out, casting a glance in Luigi's direction. "Under what other circumstances would the five of us be standing together without killing each other?"

"True that… _Especially _me and Dimentio." Mr. L put in, casting a cold glare at the jester.

"How can one who is possessing so much annoyance be having so much of this… this…" Fawful gestured with his hands, scrunching his face up as he searched for the right words.

"Charm?" Dimentio offered. "Hypnotic qualities? _Lovability_, perhaps?"

Fawful snapped his fingers in the jester's direction. "That is being it! Why is she being so lovable?"

"Well, she _is _a fangirl…" Dimentio mused, tapping on his chin. "Perhaps, as her fandoms, we are naturally inclined to love her in return."

"No, no, no…" Luigi argued, shaking his head. "If anything, fandoms should _fear _their fangirls… They're one of the most evil, sadistic, heartless monsters I've ever seen…"

"Ah…" Dimentio sighed. "In that case, I haven't a clue…"

"Well… we can talk about this crap later…" Kamek said, calmly setting everyone back on track. "Right now, Livi needs our help, and whether or not we know _why_, we have to help her. We need to figure out where she is, and get her out of the mess she's guaranteed to have gotten herself into."

"I propose we split up." Dimentio said cheerily. "Surely between the five of us we can locate her quickly."

"Are you not recalling the _last _time we had the splitting of upness?" Fawful asked, folding his arms over his chest.

Dimentio suppressed a shudder as he recalled shoving Livi and Fawful into the river, silently praying that that wasn't what Fawful was referring to. His smile, however, never faltered as he went on. "I mean that this time we should each go individually. Besides, it isn't as though any of _us _can work well together without Livi here…"

Kamek sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, Dimentio's right… If any of us tried to team up in any sort of way, we'd only end up slowing ourselves down and covering much less ground…"

"Or having the killing of each other." Fawful said, glancing between Dimentio and Mr. L.

"Shut _up_, Fawful." Kamek hissed, waving him off.

"No, no! He's right!" Mr. L snapped. "Look, there's only one of us that's out to kill anybody, and that's _him_." He spat, jabbing a finger in Dimentio's masked face.

"But, you are being the one who tri—" Fawful was cut off by Kamek's hands clamping over his mouth before he could accuse Mr. L of attempting to end Dimentio's game.

Mr. L went on, apparently not hearing Fawful. "I dare any one of you to give me just one good reason why _Dimentio_..." Mr. L spat the name in disgust, glaring at the jester. "…should be allowed to wander the Underwhere ALONE!"

Luigi stared at Mr. L for a very long time, slowly approaching him as though he were thinking. Finally, as Luigi stood just before the two rivals, his gaze shifted to Dimentio's glowing eyes, and he asked calmly, "Can we trust you, Dimentio?"

Dimentio bowed slightly. "You have my word, Luigi…" He stated, his voice as smooth as honey. "I shall be on my very best behavior. I care for the silly little pest just as much as any of you."

"Oh, really…" Mr. L said sarcastically.

"Ah, yes…" Dimentio mused with an airy grin. "Like a blemish on the face one despises so, but when it is gone, the complexion seems incomplete."

As the two went on arguing about one thing or another, Luigi was carefully watching Dimentio's glowing eyes and painted smile, trying very hard to tell if he was lying or not. If that mask was good for one thing alone, it was covering the truth.

"Alright… I trust you…" Luigi said firmly, turning to walk off towards the mountains.

Mr. L's jaw dropped in stunned silence as he watched Luigi go. Dimentio, meanwhile, couldn't have been happier. He seemed a tad surprised that Luigi would trust him, but a warm smile spread across his mask anyways.

"What?" Mr. L finally shrieked, snapping out of his shock. "You're going to _trust _him? Just like _that_?"

"Yup. Just like that." Luigi called over his shoulder, not even turning to glance at Mr. L.

"_What? _This is crazy! _You're _crazy! He's going to get us all _killed!_" Mr. L's voice rose to a scream as he tried in vain to grab Luigi's attention, watching in horror as his alter ego walked off, completely ignoring him.

Passing by Kamek, Luigi paused slightly, casting him a slight glare. "Happy now?" He faintly whispered. Kamek seemed stunned at first, but was quickly over it. He smiled slightly and nodded before Luigi took off into the mountains. When he had gone, Kamek summoned and mounted his broomstick, giving no-killing orders to the other three before he flew off.

Dimentio turned around to locate Fawful, only to find that the child had already disappeared. Dimentio smiled, noting how quick he was, and instead looked around for Mr. L. The Green Thunder was walking quickly (but slower than the others) in the direction of the mountains.

Dimentio snapped his fingers, appearing beside Mr. L in a distortion of the air. However long the two had been separated, Mr. L still didn't even flinch at Dimentio's sudden appearance. Dimentio's smile twitched into a disappointed frown for a moment, remembering fondly the days he could scare the living daylights out of Mr. L by simply teleporting into the room.

Dimentio shook it off, smiling sweetly at his old friend. "What do you say the two of us look together, hm?"

Mr. L cast him a cold glare. "I don't think so."

"Why ever not?" Dimentio pretended to wonder, though he already knew the answer. "I'll ask once again—we made quite the team back then, didn't we?"

"I'll remind you again…" Mr. L retorted, a growl in his voice. "That was _before _you stabbed me in the back…"

Dimentio paused mid-air, his smile falling into a heartbroken frown as Mr. L continued on, leaving him there. He wished so deeply that there was something, _anything _he could say. He wished he was back at Castle Bleck, and he could blame one of the other minions, and Nastasia would pretend to believe him so she didn't have to talk to him anymore. He wished he could sweetly lie to the Count like the little snake he was, and he could weasel his way out of anything he got stuck in.

But, there was no getting out of _this_ mess. He had allowed Mr. L much too close to him. And now, when he needed to lie the most, it would do him no good. Mr. L had seen through his mask—and now he could see through anything.

"That was why… I had to kill you…" Dimentio whispered to himself, somewhat ashamed of the tears he felt welling up in his eyes.

Mr. L stopped dead a ways ahead, growling under his breath. "Are you _still _talking to me?" He called back to the jester.

Dimentio wiped the tears away, taking a shaky breath to steady himself. "I ju… just said…" _It's too late… _he bitterly thought. _Too late to fix anything… _"You know I'm not going to kill you all… correct?"

Dimentio heard Mr. L scoff at the lie as the jester floated towards him again. "Yeah, right…" He heard Mr. L mutter under his breath.

_To late to fix it… _Dimentio thought again, a devious smile playing at his lips. _So why not mess it up more?_

Suddenly, Dimentio's icy hands grabbed Mr. L's shoulders, yanking him backwards into the jester's arms. Before Mr. L had time to react, Dimentio leaned down and hissed in his ear, keeping his voice melodic yet sinister. _"After all… you can't kill a ghost… I suppose I'll simply have to settle for the other three, won't I?"_

Mr. L's hand clenched into a fist. With a shriek of rage, he spun around to let it collide with Dimentio's mask. He was a split-second too late, however, because Dimentio snapped his fingers and vanished.

Mr. L, missing his target, and suddenly not being held in place by Dimentio anymore, fell forward and slammed into the cold dirt face-first. Dimentio then re-appeared right behind him, trembling with the laughter muffled by one gloved hand over his mouth, and the other arm around his waist. As Mr. L groaned and started to pick himself up, Dimentio snapped his fingers again and teleported off to the mountains, laughing his head off the whole way.

The jester did so love toying with his victims, and Mr. L had always been his favorite—if nothing else, the most amusing, by far. Of course, with such a hot-headed personality and a close friendship to the jester, Dimentio would always have to pay dearly for messing with him, but it always seemed well worth it…

* * *

_LoL, __**"thanking the evilness"**__… villains are so silly… And, yeah, Dimentio's __**defiantly **__gonna be paying up soon…_

"'_**She's done more than just that…' Kamek pointed out, casting a glance in Luigi's direction. 'Under what other circumstances would the five of us be standing together without killing each other?'"**__—An excellent point, Kamek! I think that pretty much sums up the theme of Obsessive Fangirl in one quote, doncha think? Man, I love this fanfic!_

_And I do have to wonder what happened to Livi? Who knows what on earth that poor, crazed fangirl has gotten herself into this time?_

…

_Well, I do, of course… but, I'm not telling any of you!_

_Oh, and one more thing I've noticed. __**"'Too late to fix it…' Dimentio thought again, a devious smile playing at his lips. 'So, why not mess it up more?'" **__When I first wrote that, I considered re-writing it, because it didn't make any sense. Then, after thinking about it a while, it did. That's just how warped Dimentio's mind has become. Somewhere in all that insane, dark, twisted mess his mind has become, that idea makes perfect sense to him, and it was probably that same logic that ultimately lead to his betrayal._


	17. How Unfortunate

Mr. L shuddered violently as another breeze ruffled his dark hair. It sent chills creeping up his spine as he trudged through the mountain valleys.

"Stupid little nuisance…" The familiar chills dragging his mind back to Dimentio. "Why can't he just go away?"

Even after so long lost in the Underwhere, Mr. L never thought his "life" could get much worse. The one tiny speck of optimism he could ever find was that at least he had gotten away from that backstabbing little creep.

And here he was again.

Mr. L growled under his breath, suddenly feeling warmer as rage boiled in his chest. So much for that fantasy. It seemed there wasn't any getting rid of Dimentio after all.

_Crunch. Crunch._

Mr. L whirled around in a panic to the source of the noise. Oddly, there was nothing but the endless, dark stone that composed the surrounding mountains, and the blackened dirt path he had just traveled. No living thing in sight.

The Green Thunder shrugged it off, deciding there was always some creep up to no good in the Underwhere, and continued in his search for the troublesome fangirl. Mr. L caught himself wondering if she was always this much trouble, or if it was perhaps some side-effect of dwelling in the Aftergame.

"LIVI!" He called out to the darkness, cupping a gloved hand around his mouth. "YOU OUT HERE?"

There was no response but the icy wind.

"Great…" he muttered.

Looking around, Mr. L found a series of rocky ledges running up the side of a nearby cliff. He smirked, knelt to power his high-jump, and quickly ascended them to the top of the cliff. From his new perch, Mr. L looked around the surrounding area, as far as he could see.

One would think a group with such an obnoxious color scheme would be easier to locate in a sea of solid black. However, the other four fandoms seem to have disappeared as easily as their fangirl.

"Perfect…" Mr. L sighed to himself. "Guess I'm on my own… _again…_"

With that, he jumped back down into the valley, taking a running start off into the never-ending night. Hopefully, he'd a least bump into his alter-ego along the way.

* * *

"EEK!" _–Crash!—_

Untangling his limbs from the dark branches of the bush he suddenly found himself in, Luigi looked around wildly for the ghostly figure he had seen only moments before. Nothing, however, appeared to be in the surrounding landscape.

A sigh of relief escaped the hero's lips. It was probably just another Shayde, aimlessly wandering the Underwhere.

Luigi irritably blew the hair out of his face and pushed himself up. He hated being so afraid of everything, but he just couldn't help it. And here, it seemed so much worse.

Down here in the Underwhere, a place already filled with horrible nightmarish memories, equally horrible things dwelled and happened. It was one perpetual nightmare. It had been bad enough to endure it all the first time, but now? Now, Luigi was alone. He was already bitterly regretting not at least clueing Mario in to where he was going. Mario had always been there to protect Luigi, and in some cases, vise versa.

Luigi shuddered heavily as he continued on his way through the valley. He really missed Mario, and even Peach and Daisy.

"Why can't we just go home?" Luigi murmured pitifully.

He looked around fearfully at his surroundings. This was the first time Livi had lead him to an area he wasn't familiar with. Needless to say, it didn't sit too well in his stomach. It was nerve-wracking to not know where Livi had gotten to, but it was agonizing not to have a clue where _he _was.

Luigi looked up at the dark sky. He recalled the first time he had seen it, when he awoke in the aftergame. The last thing he had seen was Nastasia, her cold eyes, and the blinding flash of light. Then numbness and blackness as hypnosis washed over him. The next thing he knew, he woke up. Dead.

Later, he had discovered the _true _source of his demise.

For the first time, Luigi found himself pitying Mr. L. Sure, Luigi was the one who had been left alone in the depths of the Underwhere, but wasn't Mr. L the one that had been murdered? Didn't he have to endure a death by one of Dimentio's torturous boxes?

_Livi glared at him, poking her lips out like she was scheming. Then, suddenly, she turned around to the jester and said, "Dimentio!" She jerked her head towards Luigi. "Do me a favor and show Weegee we mean business, will ya?"_ _things, but he could have __**sworn**__ he saw Dimentio wince in pain just before the explosions began to… well… explode._

Dimentio was stunned for a moment, then grinned evilly and snapped his fingers. Now, Luigi could have been imagining

When it finally stopped, Luigi found himself lying on the floor of the box. He managed to pull himself into a sitting position as his aching limbs screamed in protest. He looked up at Livi, who was smirking, looking very pleased with herself. "Strike one. Care to try that again?" She asked sweetly.

Luigi cringed at the bitter memory. His wounds had quickly healed after a mushroom or two. For Mr. L, however, there wasn't going to be any coming back to life.

Luigi gulped nervously. He dreaded the thought of explaining Mr. L's life—or, lack thereof—to Livi again.

What did she expect though? Mr. L was, in theory, dead. How was he supposed to come back to the mortal realm with them?

Luigi sighed, now dragging his feet in the black dirt. _One problem at a time… _he reminded himself. First, Livi would have to be found. Then, Luigi could worry about the villains.

* * *

The mountains were very beautiful, in a dark, poetic sort of way. The chilling winds brought silver mists to hang over the gloomy landscape. It looked very much like the setting of a horror movie. Not the stupid ones with serial killers, the good ones with the post-apocalyptic, nightmarish, anti-worlds.

Livi smiled darkly, hugging her knees to her chest. She was always bright, happy, and ridiculously optimistic on the outside, but on the inside, she was a fangirl.

Just like all fangirls, Livi loved wump and angst on those she loved above all else, and her deviously twisted mind could think of a million and one ways to inflict such pain. Livi had never felt such pleasure as being with her darling fandoms. It was all too easy to get them into trouble.

Why had she run from Mr. L? Livi's smile widened at the memory. To stir up trouble, of course. The same reason she had brought them all together. The same reason she had uprooted each from their home. The same reason she had put them all on the same team—with the very ones they despised.

Her only regret? She only wished she could have witnessed the first time in so long that Dimentio and Mr. L had laid eyes on each other.

This was all a game to her. A sick, twisted, devious game, but one that she enjoyed so much. Much more than she should, she sometimes thought.

Fangirls were scary creatures, to be sure. Perhaps the greatest threat to their fandoms. Livi had seen even the strongest and mightiest of characters fall under the fangirls' most powerful weapon—fanfiction.

"This is…" Livi mused. "…perhaps my _greatest _work yet…"

Her top five fandoms were now at her mercy. What good were any of them without her? She had successfully scattered them from each other, and more importantly, herself.

She had even managed to set herself into the story without realizing it. She was the key to Dimentio's curse. How she was going to break it, she hadn't a clue, but that left Dimentio completely at her mercy.

Another devious smile. Livi liked the thought of that.

She was the key to their misfortune, of course, but that was only to be expected of a fangirl. Deep in her heart, though, she wanted the best for them. She wanted their happy ending, their triumphant return, and most of all, their final peace of mind once all was said and done.

But, not during the climax. That was the best part.

Livi perked up at the sound of wind behind her. It was odd, she decided, because there was no breeze to be felt. She slowly turned around to see what was behind her.

Instantly, she was elated.

"Dimentio!" The fangirl shrieked.

Livi was correct. The jester floated a ways off, at the edge of the cliff Livi sat on, eyeing her carefully. He made no movement towards her, simply floating there. He seemed… stunned.

Livi stood up, turning completely around on the cliff to face him, her back to the mountains, the edge dropping steep below her. "Dimentio!" She said again, not entirely sure he had heard her.

Dimentio blinked his eyes a few times (though Livi could only see one, as it glowed bright yellow in the dark) then slowly floated towards her. His expression was… twisted… he seemed… uncertain? No, that wasn't quite it…

Something caused Livi to suddenly lurch forward, a tremble running through her body as she steadied herself. A slight sense of panic crashing over her, Livi tore her gaze from the jester to her feet.

The cliff had begun to crack beneath her.

Livi's wide, scared eyes slowly returned to the jester, now much, much closer to where she stood.

"…Dimentio?" The fangirl fearfully choked out.

Something in the back of Livi's mind told her to run.

Something else reminded her she was trapped…

* * *

Fawful stepped nimbly through the tangled undergrowth, his only hindrance being the tattered edges of his cloak—tearing even further as they repeatedly snagged on fallen branches.

A heavy sigh of frustration echoed in the valley. Fawful was lost. Fawful did _not _like being lost.

What made it worse was that he was lost in the aftergame. Great, so he was dead. Just perfect. What if he couldn't get out?

…what if he couldn't get out?

Fawful slowed his pace to a stop as random thoughts flashed through his mind. It wouldn't be so bad, would it? Wasn't the great Cackletta still here? Oh good Grambi… if he could just find her again…

Fawful harshly shook his head until he was dizzy, clearing out the bothersome thoughts. He couldn't be thinking like that, he decided as he ran off through the valleys. He couldn't give up so easily.

Fawful had to live. He had promised her.

Fawful stopped short as a trail of dust and rubble fell into his path. Looking upwards, he saw the source—a crumbling cliff. He could just barely make out a figure standing on it, shrouded by the shadows that obscured his vision.

Fawful shrugged off the moron's stupidity and continued on his way. If they wanted to go fall off a cliff, they could have at it for all he cared.

After continuing down the trail for a while—or, up the trail, as it began to wind up a steep slope—Fawful suddenly stopped dead in his tracks as a high-pitched scream pierced the night air. A very _familiar _scream. He whipped around, searching quickly for the source of the sound.

To his surprise, his attention was drawn once again to the figure on the cliff. It was far behind him now, but from the higher level Fawful found himself at and the shadowy mists being now far below, the child found himself able to make out the figure.

And as realization dawned on him, Fawful felt a familiar grin creeping across his face. "The Fangirl of Obsessions! It is being her!"

Fawful ran back down the path as quick as he could, intending to catch her attention as he reached the cliff's base. He had found her. He had beaten this silly game of hers.

The smile began to fall from Fawful's face, the child slowing his pace to an eventual stand-still. He looked confused. There was another figure on the cliff. One that stood opposite her, and was slowly advancing. One that was _floating_.

"…The Jester… of Dementedness?" Fawful mused, very confused. There was no mistaking it—Dimentio floated on the cliff with Livi.

There was another crumbling of rocks.

Fawful's eyes went wide with shock. "…no." He whispered.

Dimentio suddenly flew forward with alarming speed. The two collided, another shriek pierced the air, then as the cliff crumbled, the fangirl tumbled backwards off the cliff.

"NO!" Fawful yelled, running towards her.

Everything stopped.

Fawful paused, frozen in place.

He had heard it—the loud, sickening thud.

Livi had hit the ground.

"No…" Fawful choked out. He scanned the area quickly, running scenarios and mathematics in his head. No, no, no… the cliff was too high… the ground was too hard… she couldn't catch herself… she was falling too fast…

"No…" Fawful choked again, tears welling up in his eyes. "Sh-she cannot have the goneness… she cannot possess… cannot be being…"

He screwed his eyes shut, tears running down his face as he realized the inevitable conclusion—Livi's game was over. Should he even be able to find the spot she had hit, help was already too late.

She couldn't be gone… he couldn't even make himself admit it. After all he'd personally put her through, and what she'd gotten herself into… hours ago she escaped the clutches of _Bonechill_… could she really be… _dead?_

Looking up and around through tear-filled eyes, Fawful noticed… Dimentio.

The jester was still on the cliff, lying on what was left of it. He slowly pushed himself up, staring down into the valley below. Fawful knew he saw her—he saw the fangirl that had just been snatched from the living world.

The jester raised a gloved hand, snapped once, and was gone.

Fawful's eyes went wide. He glanced repeatedly between the cliff Dimentio had vanished from and the valley below—the fangirl's coffin. His eyes narrowed, his teeth clenched, his tiny body shaking in rage.

"Murderer…" Fawful growled.

The beanish child threw himself off the ground, racing off as fast as he could to find the others. It wasn't too late. He saw everything. He'd stop this somehow.

* * *

Kamek spun around at the sound of the screams, raising his wand higher to further illuminate the area. He muttered the light spell under his breath again, increasing the wand's light a bit more.

He could see nothing in the darkness, but he could still hear the echoing screams in the distance. They sounded close. Was someone calling him? It might have been one of the others…

Kamek gently closed his eyes and listened intently. _The Green Thunder… _the voice called out.

The Magikoopa shrugged it off, continuing on his way. It was probably some Shayde, looking for Mr. L.

Kamek suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. "…wait." He screwed his eyes shut and listened again.

_The Thunder of Green…_

That was more like it, Kamek thought with a smile. He'd know that broken English anywhere. Turning back towards the source of the noise, he called out, "Fawful! Over here!"

There were lots of sounds of stumbling, followed by surrounding bushes beginning to shake. Finally, Fawful stumbled out, looking tired and frantic. He looked absolutely terrified.

"The one who is Kamek! It is being you!" Fawful ran clumsily over to Kamek, throwing his arms around the Magikoopa's waist. "I am possessing such gladness!"

Kamek, obviously, was rather stunned by the gesture. Was Fawful… hugging him? "…Fawful? Are you alright?"

"I say to you NO!" The child yelled, his cries muffled by Kamek's heavy robes. "Nothing is possessing the alrightness! An event of much the terribleness has had happening!"

"What?" Kamek gently pried Fawful's arms from his waist and knelt down before him, holding onto the child's shoulders to steady him. "Fawful, listen to me… what happened?"

Kamek noticed the tears streaming down Fawful's heartbroken face, and the terror in his eyes. He looked down at his feet, suddenly going limp in Kamek's hands.

"…It is being Livi." Fawful mumbled.

"Livi? You found her?" Kamek asked, elated.

Fawful miserably shook his head, still staring at the ground. "She was being… on a… cliff… too high for me to have the calling… and she was…" Fawful trembled, screwing his eyes shut. "She had the…"

Kamek found his eyes had also closed in grief. "Good Grambi… _please _tell me she didn't fall…"

"No." Fawful said flatly.

Kamek didn't miss the sudden change of tone. He looked curiously over the child. "…no?"

Fawful looked up darkly. Even behind his thick glasses, Kamek could tell the terror in Fawful's eyes had quickly been replaced with rage.

"She was being pushed…" he growled.

"Pushed?" Kamek gasped out. "Who would do such a thing?"

"The jester!" Fawful suddenly shrieked at the top of his lungs. "The jester of dementedness!"

Kamek raised an eyebrow, looking very confused. "…Dimentio? But… why would—"

"I am not knowing…" Fawful interrupted furiously. "But, he _did_! He had the pushing of her! I had that which is seeing!" Fawful suddenly stumbled forward and grabbed Kamek's shoulders, forcing the Magikoopa to look at him. "I did have the seeing… he had the pushing of Livi…"

Kamek's confused expression suddenly turned to a stone-cold one. He stood up, gently removing Fawful's hands as he looked out into the surrounding valleys. "Where is she?"

Fawful gestured with his hand in the general direction he came from. "I am not knowing the exactness… the cliff was being in the over of theres…"

Kamek nodded. "Alright… I'll go back down the trail and see if I can find her…"

"What abouting me?" Fawful demanded, scurrying after Kamek as he started off. "I wish to have the helping!"

"No." Kamek stopped abruptly and shoved Fawful in the opposite direction. "You're quicker than me. Go find Luigi and Mr. L and let them know what happened… Bring them to the base of that cliff you saw."

"And the jester of dementedness?" Fawful asked, a harsh tone in his voice.

"We'll worry about him later, alright? Right now, we have to deal with this… just go find them. I'll see if there's anything to be done for Livi."

Fawful nodded grimly. "Okaying." With that, he ran off.

Kamek sighed, conjured his broomstick, and flew off to find the fangirl.

With any luck… he wouldn't be too late…


	18. No more light

_Hey guys! I'm back!_

_Dimentio: Well, finally, I was beginning to think you had forgotten about us…_

_(smacks him) Shuttup! And I'm talking to the viewers, duh!_

_Oi… anyways, yeah, I'm back! (for how long?) So, let's get back to the story!_

_(Ps. On a semi-unrelated note, it has only just occurred to me that Livi is still wearing pajamas. Kamek and Dimentio kidnapped her in the middle of the night, remember?)_

* * *

Kamek searched the valleys as best he could from the air. He had to find Livi fast. There was no telling how long it had taken Fawful to come find him, so they had already lost a lot of time.

Suddenly, Kamek spied something—a flash of bright red against the black.

The Magikoopa's heart dropped to his stomach. He knew that color only too well—blood.

Quick as a flash, Kamek's broomstick was in the valley, vanishing beneath him as he scurried over to the spot, finding his worst fears to be true: the red was indeed blood, a bright pool of it, spilling over the rocks. In it lay Livi, completely motionless. She was lying on her side, her back to Kamek.

He ran over and knelt down beside her, placing a hand lightly on the girl's shoulder and turning her onto her back. Livi's eyes were tightly shut and there was blood flowing freely from a large gash across her chest, staining her black shirt crimson, and there was more blood on her forehead.

Nervously, Kamek put a hand to her throat, then to her wrist. Feeling nothing, he placed a hand lightly over her chest, instantly breathing a deep sigh of relief. Her pulse had faded to near nothingness, but her heart was still beating. It was much slower than normal, but she was alive, and that was all that mattered.

Kamek set right to work magically removing as much blood as he could and healing some of the wounds by similar means. The wound across her chest would have to wait, though. It would require a lot of magic that he was in no condition to conjure.

"Kamek!" The Magikooopa sat upright and looked around at the sound of his name. He felt a smile spread across his face. Never in his life did he think he would be so happy to see Luigi.

Luigi bounded down the rocky slope of the mountain and was at Kamek's side in an instant, gaping at Livi. "What… what happened?"

"Didn't Fawful tell you?"

Luigi shook his head, sitting down across from Kamek. "Not much. He said Livi was in trouble, something about Dimentio that I didn't catch, and told me to come here…"

Kamek went back to his magic. "Where is he?"

"He said something about finding Mr. L…"

"Good…"

There was silence for a few moments before Luigi spoke again.

"What happened?"

"I'll explain when Mr. L gets here. I'm not too fond of repeating myself…"

Luigi sighed heavily. "Alright, then… do you think you can help her?"

Kamek shook his head. "I'm not sure… Normally—maybe. But I've used up a lot of my magic on all these crazy messes we get into… it's going to take me a while to gather enough to heal something like this…"

"Well, crap… is there anything I can do?"

"Just keep an eye out for Mr. L and Fawful, would you?"

"YO, GUYS!" A familiar voice screamed from the distance.

"As if on cue…" Luigi nodded behind Kamek. And, who should come running out of the valley but Mr. L himself, with Fawful keeping a few paces ahead. They ran over and knelt down beside Livi, both looking gravely worried.

"Is… is she possessing… the alrightness?" Fawful asked, worried, still trying to catch his breath.

Kamek smiled warmly at Fawful—as much as the two beat on each other, it was nice to know he really cared about her. "Don't worry, Fawful… I'm sure she'll be fine…"

"What the hell happened?" Mr. L cut in. "Look at her! How did—what did—"

Kamek held up a hand for silence, pausing in his magic for a moment to glance around. "Fawful says he saw what happened."

"I did have the seeing!" Fawful said.

"Well?" Luigi prompted. "What happened?"

Fawful pointed upwards to the remaining fragments of the cliff which previously hung overhead. The group simultaneously noticed for the first time the various rocks and rubble surrounding the fangirl. "She had the standing on the cliff which was being here. I had the seeing of her, and tried to have that which is the calling, but she could not have the hearing of me—"

Mr. L motioned frantically with his hand. "Get to the point, short-stuff! How did she fall?"

"Not falling! Livi was being pushed!"

"WHAT?" Mr. L and Luigi shouted at the same time.

"Yessing! By the jester of dementedness!"

There was a long, tense silence in the air, everyone present too stunned to speak.

"…what?" Mr. L finally growled.

"The one who is being Dimentio…" Fawful growled through clenched teeth. "_He _had the pushing of Livi. It is being _his _fault that she will soon have that which is the death!"

"Fawful, calm down!" Kamek snapped. "No one is going to die! Livi's going to be fine!"

Mr. L stood up, looking wildly around the valley. "But, that stupid jester won't be! Not once I get my hands on him!"

Luigi stood up, grabbing his alter-ego's arm as he started to run off. "Mr. L, wait!"

Mr. L threw him off irritably, glaring daggers at him. "Don't even try to stop me, Weegee! I tried to tell you this would happen—that Dimentio was _still _a bloody traitor, and you didn't believe me! Now, I'm going to avenge Livi and _kill that stupid jester once and for all_!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Luigi said, holding up a hand pleadingly. His concerned expression suddenly turned to a devious smirk. "Who said anything about stopping you? You're not the only one who's fed up with that jester's games… if anyone's going to get rid of him, I want a part of it."

Mr. L was stunned for a moment at Luigi's sudden change in tone. "Wha… really?"

"Luigi, don't do anything you're going to regret." Kamek said sternly.

"Regret?" Luigi turned to look questioningly at the Magikoopa. "The only thing I regret is not killing him in Castle Bleck when I had the chance…"

Kamek sighed, bowing his head. "You're right… I thought Dimentio could change, but I was obviously wrong…" here, he waved them off, looking away. "Do whatever you need to, Luigi…"

Luigi and Mr. L exchanged a glance, nodded in agreement, and then ran off into the valleys in search of their unfortunate common enemy.

Fawful walked over to sit down beside Kamek, looking down at Livi, his expression unreadable. "What are we to be doing?"

Kamek went back to healing as much as he could. "We'll do what we can for her, but I won't be able to do much…" He turned to look Fawful in the eyes. "But, I'll keep her alive, alright? I can promise you that."

Fawful smiled for the briefest of moments, then reached out and ran a hand down the side of Livi's face. "I have the hoping so…"

Kamek paused before answering, deep in thought. "Dimentio never could change… but… you have… haven't you?"

Fawful shook his head slightly. "Noing… I will never have that which is changing… I will be being a villain of much badness foring-ever… I had promising to the Great Cackletta…"

Kamek smiled. "But, you care about Livi… don't you?"

Fawful was silent for a long time, then turned and lifted his sad eyes to Kamek. "She is being the only one… who had the caring for me in a time of much longness…"

Kamek nodded in agreement. "You can say that again… She happens to love you very much… she loves all of us, really…"

"Even the traitor who is being Dimentio?" Fawful asked, something spiteful in his voice.

Kamek thought about that a while, then took one look at Livi's still, quiet face, and smiled. "Even Dimentio…"

* * *

Mr. L ran quickly through the darkness, Luigi close behind him, hardly paying attention to tripping or stumbling at all. He had never been this excited in his entire life (however short it may have been). Finally, _finally_, that stupid, sick, twisted, demonic little jester was really going to get what was coming to him.

"Wait!" Luigi called. Mr. L dug his heels into the black dirt, stumbling a bit to a stand-still. Luigi came up next to him, looking around in the surroundings.

"What? C'mon, let's go already!" Mr. L begged, eager to get on with it.

"Wait…" Luigi repeated. "Do we even know where we're going?"

Mr. L felt his heart drop to his stomach—Luigi was right; they had no idea where Dimentio had gone. And with those stupid teleporting powers of his, he could be anywhere by now.

"Well… oh!" Mr. L's eyes lit up with realization. "He doesn't know we're after him, right?"

Luigi thought about that a moment. "That's right… as far as he knows, we haven't even found Livi yet, so he shouldn't have a reason to be avoiding us…"

"Soooo…" Mr. L encouraged, gesturing excitedly with his hands. "If he wants to keep pretending he's all lovable and innocent—he'll have no choice but to come right to us!"

With that, the two started calling out into the mountains for the mysterious jester, starting to wander around in the valleys again. After quite a while of this, just before it was starting to seem hopeless, Luigi and Mr. L both jumped at the sound of crumbing rocks behind them.

Turning slowly around, the found the source—none other than Dimentio himself, peeking out from over a cliff, wearing that same ridiculous smile, yet somehow different.

"Ah, hello there…" Dimentio greeted, waving shyly. "I believe it was you two that were calling out for me?"

Mr. L took a step forward, but Luigi caught his arm and held him back, shaking his head slightly. The Green Thunder relaxed ever so slightly, but continued glaring up at the jester. Luigi stepped forward so he was beneath Dimentio, looking up at him.

"Yes, we were…" Luigi said calmly, trying to remain composed. "Mr. L and I think we may have a lead on where Livi is… you haven't seen her around here, have you?"

"Around here? Mm…" Dimentio placed a hand over his chin, pretending to ponder that statement very carefully. "No, I don't believe so, but I'll keep my eyes peeled like a ripe apple, alright?"

"Really? You _haven't _seen her?" Luigi pretended to be confused, smirking at Mr. L. "Fawful was _sure _he had seen her come this way…"

Dimentio's smile faltered for the briefest of moments. "F-fawful? He… saw her?"

"Yeah, why?" Mr. L challenged. "He wants to help her out, too… we _all _do, don't we?"

Dimentio smiled again, nodding nervously. "Oh, yes, of course… anything for the precious angel, am I correct? Ah ha ha ha…"

"Well, Dimentio…" Luigi said, politely as possible. "Why don't you come help Mr. L and I search for her?"

Dimentio stood up, holding his hands up apologetically. "No, no, that's quite alright… you know I tend to work much better alone…"

"Oh, come on, Dimentio…" Luigi pleaded. "We're all friends now, aren't we? We won't hurt you if you don't hurt us, alright?"

Dimentio thought about that a while, his glowing eyes narrowing suspiciously and his psychotic smile falling at last. Finally, against his better judgment, Dimentio floated down to join Luigi and Mr. L. The jester looked from one to the other, still keeping his distance, then smiled, in a rather creepy sort of way.

"You're lying… aren't you?" Dimentio said, almost playfully.

"Funny." Mr. L growled, his eyes narrowing. "So are you."

Without any warning, Mr. L threw himself at Dimentio, the two soon fighting yet again, rolling across the dirt floor and landing any hits they could manage.

"You couple of sneaks!" Dimentio said, still attempting to keep a playful tone in his voice. "You've tricked me, haven't you?"

"Us?" Mr. L yelled, enraged. "You've been tricking _all _of us! You're a liar and a traitor! You always have been and you always will be!"

Mr. L threw Dimentio into cliff side, allowing him to slide down to the ground at Luigi's feet. The jester looked up at his rival, a smirk playing at his lips. "Don't tell me you're in on this too, Luigi?"

Luigi powered up a high jump, but instead of jumping, he lashed out and kicked Dimentio up the wall, stomping him down as he fell back to earth. "You haven't changed a bit, Dimentio… you're still a monster, still a traitor, and still a murderer."

Dimentio looked up at the two, dazed and confused, while pitifully attempting to pick himself up. "What in all the dimensions are you talking about? I haven't killed anyone!"

"Liar!" Mr. L yelled, grabbing Dimentio by the collar of his cloak and yanking him up so they were face-to-face. "We know you killed Livi, you backstabbing demon!"

Dimentio's eyes widened in horror. "Wh… what? You think I _killed _her? Why would I do such a th—"

Before Dimentio could finish a thought, he was thrown, yet again, into another cliff wall, a few rocks from above crumbling on top of him. Dimentio tried desperately to free himself as Luigi bounded over to him, Mr. L close behind. "Please, you have to believe me! I would never—"

"Don't try to deny it, Dimentio!" Luigi shouted. "Your stupid lies don't work any more, don't you get it? We _saw _Livi! You pushed her off that cliff, and now she's lying there in the valley, broken, bleeding, and _dying_!"

Dimentio fell limp, looking up at Luigi with a horrified expression. "You don't believe me… the one key to my freedom, the only one who can free me from my curse, and you think I would _kill _her?"

"You don't need a reason, Dimentio…" Mr. L sneered. "You're just warped… No one knows why you do these things, and I doubt you do either…"

"But, I'm innocent!" Dimentio pleaded, quickly realizing what a mess he was in. "You have to believe me! You both know me well enough—I would never harm anyone that was in some way useful to me, and Livi is _vital _to finally escaping this accursed realm!"

Mr. L jerked Dimentio off the ground by the collar of his cloak, throwing him off into the rocks. "You're _lying! _I know you are! I'm sick of your dirty little tricks, and I'm not about to let you get away with hurting anyone else!"

Dimentio backed up against the cliff wall as Mr. L advanced on him, he held up his hands pleadingly. "Please, I know what you must be thinking, but allow me a chance to explain!"

"No!" Mr. L shouted. "Why should I? You never do anything but lie, manipulate, and _kill_!"

"Wait!" Dimentio looked to Luigi, begging for help. "Luigi, please, you believe me, don't you? You said you trust me!"

Luigi felt his hands tighten into fists as he slowly made his way over to the two. "I _did _trust you… why I did, I'll never know… But, I can promise you, Dimentio, I'm not about to make that mistake again…"

* * *

Queen Jaydes looked thoughtfully over the glowing orb, showing quite clearly the fight currently going on between Luigi, Mr. L, and their nemesis, Dimentio. She wore an unpleasant frown as she surveyed the scene, watching each detail carefully. Something, somewhere, had gone wrong—horribly wrong.

"How could this have happened?" She wondered aloud. "Dimentio was doing so well, and he was so close… what is the matter with him?"

Jaydes watched Mr. L and Luigi quickly overwhelm Dimentio. How had that happened? Dimentio, even in this state, had always been much stronger than the two of them.

It seemed as though everything had suddenly turned topsy-turvey.

At that moment, Luvbi opened the chamber doors a crack and slipped inside. "M… mother?" she asked hesitantly.

"What is it, dear?" Jaydes asked, not removing her eyes from the orb.

"Um… well…" Luvbi nervously approached the Queen, trying to look into the orb as well. "There be-est a slight problem… some of yon Shaydes have reported—"

"A fight?" Jaydes finished.

"Um… yes." Luvbi seemed stunned that her mother already knew the answer. "Thou… knowest?"

"Indeed, I do… It would seem Dimentio has strayed off-course from his path to redemption…"

Luvbi's wings drooped as she watched the fight. "But… that cannot be, mother! Dimentio hast been most determined…"

"I know, Luvbi, but…" Jaydes turned away from the orb, walking away. "Some people never change… it simply isn't possible…"

Luvbi flew hastily after the Queen as she wandered out into the main corridors of the palace. "But, Mother… what shall we do? Yon bickerers are proving most troublesome to thy Shaydes! Thy simply cannot allow this!"

"And, I don't plan to… Dimentio will be harshly punished for this…"

Luvbi's eyes widened fearfully. "But… mother… surely, thou dost not—"

Jaydes stopped walking, turning to look lovingly at her daughter, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Dear, I'm so sorry… You know I've always wanted to help my Shaydes, but I gave Dimentio many chances to return to life, and he will not allow me to help… his heart is far too dark now…"

"Nay!" Luvbi shrieked. "Thou art wrong! Dimentio _can _change! Thou sayest thyself… there doth be some good in _all_…"

Jaydes sighed, shaking her head. "But, that doesn't mean everyone _wants _that good… Dimentio _is _darkness, and there isn't anything else I can do for him…"

"But, mother!" Luvbi pleaded.

"No, Luvbi…" Jaydes was walking off now, Luvbi attempting to follow. "There's nothing more to be done. I'm sorry."

Luvbi stood there, stunned, watching as the Queen called over a D-Men. She gave him instructions to assemble a small group, head to the valleys, and break up the fight going on there.

"But, be careful…" Jaydes warned sternly. "I want the jester brought back to me, _alive_…"


	19. Everything's Coming Clear

"Have the hurrying! It is just being in the over of hereness!" Fawful said ecstatically as he ran through the woods. Kamek was close behind him, carrying Livi across his arms, trying to keep up with Fawful without dropping the fangirl.

"Slow down, Fawful!" Kamek begged, exasperated.

Fawful stopped suddenly, looking around wildly, trying to find the next path. "Where is it being?" He mumbled to himself.

Kamek caught up to him, re-adjusting his grip on Livi. "Ugh… I'm getting to old for this… where are we now?"

"Um… I have the knowing… it is being around the area which is here…" Fawful's eyes lit up as he spotted a Shayde just a little ways off. In an instant, Fawful was running down the path, calling out to the mysterious figure, Kamek trying to keep up again.

"Hey! You who are having the darkness!" Fawful called.

The Shayde, seeming a bit confused, turned slowly around to face the child, stopping in its tracks. "Are you referring to me?"

"Yessing!" Fawful said, slowing down to stand in front of it. "We are requiring assistance from the one who is you."

"Is that so?" The Shayde asked, sounding a tad amused.

Fawful suddenly lost his train of thought, staring at the Shayde as though examining it very closely. Judging by the voice, this one appeared to have been female in its mortal years, and sounded more aged than others.

Kamek pushed Fawful aside as the Shayde looked questioningly at him. "I'm very sorry about him… he's only a child—who knows what he's thinking, right?"

"Mm, I don't know… Some children, I've heard, could easily outwit adults, am I right?" She asked, winking at Fawful.

"Ah, true that… Fawful's a clever one… Now, about your assistance…" Kamek said. "We really need to get to the Fountain of Life."

"Ah yes…" The Shayde mused, taking note of Livi's limp form. "And quite quickly, I'd presume."

"Yes, we do. Could you tell us where it is?"

"Well… I suppose… it couldn't hurt to help out a fellow villain…" The Shayde nodded off down the dirt path. "This path will take you right to the River Twygz. Take the ferry across, and the fountain is just on the other side—ask the captain to show you the way."

"Alright, thank you very much." Kamek started off, Fawful snapping out of his daze and following after him.

"And good luck, Fawful! You will soon need it!" The Shayde called after them.

Fawful stopped, stunned. "Wait… how are you—"

However, spinning around to face the Shayde, Fawful only found that she had already disappeared. Rather than disappointment, the beanish child felt a familiar grin creeping over his face as realization hit like a bolt of lightning.

"Ca… Cackletta?" Fawful whispered into the darkness.

"Fawful!" Kamek called. "Come on! We have to hurry!"

Fawful pointed frantically down the path. "No! It is her! It has being of the Great Cackletta! I must have the finding of her!"

Kamek shook his head. "It couldn't have been her, Fawful… Cackletta was a Gold Rank boss—she should be under very high security, not wandering around in the forest."

Fawful's face fell, looking back down the path. "But… it _is _her… I am having the certainty…"

"Well, whoever it was…" Kamek said, looking out into the darkness. "She's long gone now… We need to get going…"

"Al… alrighting…" Fawful said pitifully, turning and slowly following Kamek as they ran off towards the ferry dock.

"I have fury…" he mumbled.

"I know you do." Kamek said, rolling his eyes.

Meanwhile, the very same Shayde stepped out of the shadows, cackling quietly to herself as she watched her young apprentice disappear yet again…

* * *

Dimentio hit the ground with a heavy thud, groaning in pain as he clutched his sore head. Mr. L stood over him, smiling triumphantly.

"Had enough?" He taunted.

"Please, L…" Dimentio pleaded. "No more… I beg of you, please spare me…"

"Spare you?" Luigi sneered, pacing around the jester. "You don't deserve our mercy… why Jaydes tried to help you for so long, I'll never know…"

"I _told _you…" The jester moaned. "I'm _innocent_… I didn't try to kill Li—"

Mr. L kicked him harshly, sending him rolling a few feet off. "Then answer us this: Did you try to destroy all worlds?"

Dimentio gasped for breath, clutching his sides painfully. "Yes."

"Did you betray The Count?" Luigi asked.

"Yes." Dimentio replied bitterly, attempting to pick himself up.

"What about killing me and Nastasia?" Mr. L growled through gritted teeth.

"Yes…" Dimentio turned away, unable to look at them.

"What about Mimi?" Luigi said with a bit of arrogance. "You broke her fragile little heart when you betrayed everyone… wasn't that you?

Dimentio closed his eyes in grief. "…yes."

Mr. L grabbed the collar of Dimentio's cloak, leaning down to hiss in his ear. "Then you're a traitor, a murderer, and a monster… you deserve to die."

Dimentio was suddenly yanked off the ground, Mr. L pinning him to a cliff wall. The jester grabbed Mr. L's arm, simply trying to keep the Green Thunder from strangling him, too tired to even fight back anymore.

"Now, we're going to make sure you get what's coming to you." Mr. L growled, tightening his grip.

Dimentio smiled a bit, laughing under his breath.

"What?" Luigi asked, anger rising in his voice. "What's so funny?"

Dimentio glanced over at the two, smiling deviously. "Let's think about _this_, shall we? Do the two of you really want _my _blood on your hands? Then, aren't you just as bad as I?"

"It'll be worth it to see you dead." Mr. L growled, eyes narrowing.

"And besides." Luigi pointed out. "It isn't really evil, if we're righting all your wrongs."

Dimentio shrugged. "If that's what you need to tell yourself…"

"Enough games!" Mr. L yelled, silencing Dimentio. "Luigi's right—we're killing for good! Not sick games like you!"

"Unless…" Luigi said, laying a hand on Mr. L's shoulder to stop him from punching Dimentio's lights out.

"What?" Mr. L screamed, stunned. "Don't tell me you're agreeing with him!"

"Look, I'm just saying… maybe he _is _right… we're killing him for our revenge, not because of everything he's done."

"We're getting revenge _because _of everything he's done!"

"But, it's still an impure motive! I'm a hero, I can't shed innocent blood!"

"It's not innocent! It's _Dimentio_! Are you trying to ignore everything he's done? All the people he's hurt, the lives he's ruined, the worlds he's destroyed!"

"No! That's not at all what I'm saying!"

"Then shut up!"

Dimentio laughed to himself. "In a bit of a situation, aren't we Luigi? I knew it… you couple of goody-two-shoes couldn't kill me… Now, why don't you two let me go, let me correct your rather irrational thinking, and we can sort this whole mess out…"

"NO!" Mr. L shrieked, throwing Dimentio into a far wall. Dimentio shrieked in pain, collapsing to the ground. He placed a hand over the left side of his mask, feeling a painful crack beginning to form over his eye. The jester looked up at his rival, terrified for his life.

"No…" Mr. L growled, advancing on him. "I don't care what Luigi says… I don't care what you say either… I've been waiting for this chance since the day I woke up down here, and I'm not about to let you get away."

Mr. L grabbed Dimentio by the throat, lifting him off the ground, and drew back his fist. "I'm gonna enjoy wiping that stupid smile off your face…"

"HALT!" All three fandoms froze, turning to the sound of the harsh, sharp voice. A small troop of D-men was approaching them. They stopped at the signal from their leader, who went on to approach Mr. L and Luigi.

"Yeah, so here's the thing—this isn't flyin' with the Queen. We were sent here to break up the fight—should've known you were in the middle of this, L."

Mr. L growled. "Shut it, ya Queeny-Kiss-Up…"

The D-Men leader stepped right up to Mr. L, who had yet to release Dimentio. "Uh, no. We were sent here directly by the Queen herself. We're not to come back until our mission is complete and if we have to resort to brute force…" he paused to laugh smugly at Mr. L. "… I don't have to remind _you _that we won't hesitate…"

Mr. L tightened his grip on Dimentio, resisting the urge to drop him and rip the sorry little D-Man limb from limb.

"No worries." Mr. L said. "As soon as Dimentio's dead, we'll be finished here."

"Yeah…" the D-Man smiled up at him. "That's not really gonna work… See, Jaydes has specifically requested we bring the jester to her _alive_… she plans to punish him harshly for straying so far from her instruction."

Mr. L grinned a bit, lowering Dimentio down so the jester was kneeling at his feet, his eyes widening in terror. "Oh really… Jaydes is going to deal with him, eh?"

The D-Man nodded. "That's right. She's very upset with him. I overheard her speaking with the young Princess. She said he's had his chance at redemption, and he failed. He won't be getting another chance."

Dimentio's face fell into horror. "No…" he whispered. "No, no, no…"

Mr. L looked back at Luigi, who nodded, smiling. "Let Jaydes take care of it, Mr. L. You're not going to get a better chance at revenge than that…"

The Green Thunder smirked down at Dimentio, who was looking up at him with sad, pleading eyes. "A'right then…"

With that, Mr. L threw Dimentio to the waiting D-Men troop, who had his hands chained together in an instant. Dimentio shrieked in pain as the chains wound around his wrists. "What was that?"

"Anti-magic spell." One of the D-Men informed him. "Queen's orders—can't have you slipping away, ya know?"

Dimentio looked up at his rivals. "Mr. L, Luigi, please… I'm begging you… You can't send me to Jaydes! She'll destroy me!"

"Good!" They both said.

Before Dimentio could argue any further, the D-Men grabbed the extension of chain hanging off the jester's wrists, and pulled him along as the marched off back to the Palace. Dimentio, now unable to float, stumbled clumsily after them, casting a mournful glance over his shoulder at them.

Mr. L smugly waved him off. "L-ater, Dimentio!"

* * *

_SPLASH!_

Livi shot up out of the orange waters, choking and gasping for breath. She could feel a tingling sensation all over her body, mainly in her chest and aching head, as the cleansing waters revived her.

Suddenly, all sorts of sensations flooded over the young fangirl as the world re-appeared around her. The freezing winds of the Underwhere swirled around her, the cool fountain water splashing all around her and falling over her head, the sights and sound of the town square suddenly became clear. There were numerous Shaydes gathering around, discussing quietly the strange creature in their fountain.

Livi shook her head to clear it a bit, then turned to look around, finding Kamek and Fawful standing just off to the side. Fawful jumped into the fountain with her, hugging Livi tightly. "Livi! I have such gladness! You are possessing the aliveness!"

The fangirl was stunned at first, then slowly came to, wrapping her arms tightly around Fawful. "It's okay, Fawful… I'm alright now… were you… were you seriously worried about me?"

"Yessing! I had much of the worries! I had the fears that you would have the… be having the…"

"Dead?" Livi asked, stunned.

Fawful blinked back tears in his eyes, burying his face in Livi's shirt. "Yessing… I do not wish to have the losing of you."

"Aw, Fawful!" Livi said sweetly, hugging him affectionately. "That's so sweet!"

Kamek offered Livi a hand, which she gratefully took, still holding Fawful around his waist, and pulled her up out of the water. Livi stepped out of the fountain, smiling stupidly at the Shaydes as they gawked and stared at her. Kamek lead her away down a path towards the River Twygz, Livi setting Fawful on the ground, the two still keeping a firm grip on each other's hand.

"Where are the others?" Livi asked, rubbing her head.

"Off in the valleys still…" Kamek answered bluntly. "Do you remember anything that happened?"

"Um… it's a little fuzzy, but… I think I remember…"

"So, you are knowing?" Fawful asked.

"Knowing what?" Livi asked, reflexively mimicking his speech.

"About the jester of dementedness?"

"Oh, yeah, Dimentio. I wonder where he got to…"

Kamek raised an eyebrow. "Um… that's it? 'I wonder where he got to?' No reaction whatsoever?"

"Reaction? To what?" Livi asked, laughing a bit.

"He tried to have the killing of you!" Fawful stated.

There was a long period of silence, Livi looking from one to the other.

"…What?" She finally asked, her voice simply a hoarse whisper.

"Dimentio…" Kamek said. "He tried to kill you. He pushed you off the cliff—don't you remember?"

There was more silence, Livi's face twisting in… rage.

"He didn't _push _me, you _idiots_…" Livi growled. "The cliff _crumbled _and Dimentio was trying to _CATCH ME, YOU FRIGGIN IDIOTS!_"

"What?" Kamek and Fawful were both shocked.

"Dimentio didn't try to kill me! He was trying to catch me!"

"_Dimentio?" Livi asked, terrified. "What… what are you doing?"_

"_Shhh…The cliff's going to fall out from under you…" Dimentio held out a hand to her. "Here, take my hand."_

"_Wha—AHH!" The cliff shifted again, Livi sinking down a bit. Her instincts told her to move, to jump to the other part of the cliff, but then it would only crumble as well. "Dimentio! Please help!"_

"_Livi, it's alright, calm down!" Dimentio said soothingly. "Just take my hand—everything will be alright…"_

_But, everything wasn't alright—the cliff shattered completely, Livi falling backwards off of it. Dimentio flew forward without even thinking, snatching at thin air as the fangirl fell down into the valley below._

_He watched her hit the ground, his eyes widening in terror. Just like that—she was gone._

"He was…" Kamek said, stunned. "He tried to _save _you?"

"Yes! Why is that so hard for you to understand! Dimentio's changed! He cares about me just as much as any of you! He doesn't want to see me hurt either!"

Silence.

"That has being of problem…"

Livi turned to face Fawful, still looking kind of ticked off. "What? What's a problem?"

"Well, like we said, we _thought _Dimentio tried to kill you…" Kamek said sheepishly, looking away.

Livi raised an eyebrow irritably. "…and?"

Kamek sighed, looking down at the ground. "Luigi and Mr. L had finally had enough… they went off to… end his game."

Livi's eyes widened in horror. "They're going to go _kill _him?"

Kamek nodded.

"And you _LET _them?" Livi screamed, pushing Kamek backwards a bit.

"Hey! I had a good reason—we thought you were dying! I kind of thought Dimentio needed to be stopped!"

"Well, you thought wrong!" Livi continued screaming. "What are we gonna do?"

"We can have doing of the nothingness!" Fawful said. "They have much of the hatings of him! We cannot have that which is stopping!"

"Oh, yes we can!" Livi said, suddenly looking very determined. "I don't care who did what—the past is the past, and I'm not about to let them kill Dimentio for something he didn't do. Where are they?"

Kamek sighed, then pointed up to Jaydes' Castle. "We ran into Luigi and Mr. L on our way to the fountain. Apparently, some D-Men came to collect Dimentio and bring him to Queen Jaydes—everyone's already at the Palace by now."

Livi was silent for a very long time.

"Queen Jaydes?" She asked.

"Yessing." Fawful said. "That has correctness."

"Oh no…" Livi suddenly paled over, looking horrified. "No, this can't be happening. She must think he tried to kill me, too!"

"She will have the ending of his game!"

"NO!" Livi shrieked. "We can't let her! Oh… this isn't happening, this isn't happening…"

"Livi, calm down!" Kamek reassured her. "It's not too late! If we hurry, maybe we can still stop Jaydes!"

Livi's eyes lit up with realization. "You're right… you're right! We've got to hurry, we don't have any time to lose!"

With that, Livi took off running down the path, Fawful and Kamek scurrying after her. She was a very strange girl, for certain. After cheating death for the second time today, Livi's first thought is saving _Dimentio's _life, with little to no concern for the consequences.

Well… at least she was back to normal…

* * *

_Epicness is happening! Mwa ha ha… I laugh with sadistic squee…_

_A'right then… one little note: Yes, Cackletta really SHOULD be in Bonechill's Prison, but… let's see… excuse, excuse… Aha!_

_Let's say (for the sake of saying) when Livi's retarded bunch went and woke up Bonechill and mass chaos ensued, the living residents (those that could still walk around and feel the freezing to death) who looked like Shaydes, were all evacuated into the safety of the Underwhere. Sound good?_

I noticed when Kamek pointed it out to Fawful "Crap, yeah, she should be in Bonechill's Prison, huh?" Oh well… what's done is done…

_More epicness soon to come!_


	20. One Big Crazy Mess

_I actually hacked about half of this chapter off, because it was, like, 12 pages long in Word, so now I've started the next chapter as well! Woo-hoo!_

_Anyways… enjoy the epicness! (I really REALLY like this chapter!)_

* * *

This was, most defiantly, a problem.

Dimentio stumbled clumsily after the D-Men as they lead him through the corridors of Jaydes' Palace. The enchanted chains had sucked every scrap of magic from his being, and—this being the first time the jester found himself in such a predicament—he was left completely helpless.

Horrible thoughts of the near future clouded Dimentio's mind, making him too distracted to even bother with escaping of any sort. (What did it matter anyway? If Jaydes wanted him, Jaydes would find him) The Queen of the Underwhere had been exceptionally generous in allowing Dimentio a chance at redemption, especially when he didn't deserve it. And now, with all the odds against him,

Mr. L and Luigi (both of which she trusted) out for revenge, and the Fangirl's blood on his hands, things weren't looking so good.

_That stupid little fangirl…_ Dimentio found himself thinking. _She just had to go and get herself killed… So, of course everyone has to go and pin the blame on me… even when I was just trying to help her—Grambi knows why…_

Dimentio thought about it a moment, then sighed deeply, an odd sense of regret washing over him. _Stupid little me…if I hadn't been such an idiot, and betrayed the only friends I'd ever had, I wouldn't be in this mess… they wouldn't have a reason to blame me… _

The more Dimentio thought about it, the more he realized that it really was his entire fault. Mr. L and Luigi were right about everything they said, and so much more. What if Dimentio hadn't betrayed everyone? What if he hadn't killed Mr. L? What if he hadn't tried to kill the Count, and wound up killing Nastasia? What if he hadn't tried to capture the Chaos Heart? _What if things had gone differently?_

An image flashed into Dimentio's mind of the answer to his question. It was a perfect world, just as all the minions of their dear Count had planned. It was a beautiful, prosperous nation, with wondrous, majestic creatures and people that inhabited the land. On the throne, before her loyal subjects, sat the Queen—Mimi.

_Dimentio faked a smile at the child's delusions. "I think that's a lovely idea, Mimi… I can hardly wait to see it."_

"Well, of course you're gonna see it! You'll be there all the time!" Mimi said ecstatically, continuing to sketch out the landscapes around her castle.

"Whatever could you mean?" Dimentio asked, playfully. It was always interesting to hear Mimi go on and on about these things.

"Well, golly…" Mimi murmured, blushing a bit. "My world wouldn't be perfect without you there…"

Dimentio's smile fell for the briefest of moments, not even long enough for Mimi to catch. "Is… is that so?" he said, a bit nervously.

Mimi played with her skirt, not looking up at him. "Yeah… You're my best friend, Dimentio… As great as my world would be—and it's pretty amazing—I wouldn't care a bit if you weren't there."

The small little girl looked up at Dimentio with big sad eyes as he tried to take that in. "You'll come visit me, like, everyday, right? And you can even spend the night in my castles and junk!"

"Ah… of course, Mimi…" Dimentio said, trying to remain composed. "That sounds delightful."

Mimi giggled. "Awesome!" She went back to sketching, adding Dimentio and herself on the thrones of the castle. "So… what's your perfect world going to be like?"

Dimentio lost his smile completely. His world was full of death and destruction, which he—the ruler—brought on his miserable victims. Mimi would have to be destroyed along with the others before that could be accomplished. "Ah… what do you say we let it be a surprise?"

Dimentio sighed heavily, looking up and finding himself at the doors to Jaydes' throne room. It was much to late for what ifs, and whatever good Dimentio had left—in himself and in those he had so foolishly grown attached to—was about to come crashing down once again.

This time, however, there would be no chance to pick up the pieces…

* * *

"Mother! Thou cannot doeth this!" Luvbi shrieked, flying frantically after Jaydes.

"Luvbi, dear, I've told you. There's nothing I can do now." Jaydes explained tiredly, massaging her temples with long, sharp fingers. "Dimentio's fate has already been decided."

The Queen and her daughter were walking down the corridors of the castle, on their way to the throne room to meet the D-Men with Dimentio.

"But, this doth be most unfair! Hast thou yet heard Dimentio's side of ye tale?" Luvbi begged.

"Dimentio will be given a chance to explain himself, but we saw the whole thing. I doubt he will have much to say."

Just then, Mr. L and Luigi came bounding up to Jaydes, their D-Men escorts trying desperately to keep up. "Jaydes! We're here!" Mr. L said ecstatically.

"Calm down, Mr. L…" Jaydes said, laying a hand on his shoulder, waving the D-Men off over his head. "Have a good time outside of the castle?"

"Heck yeah! You gotta let me out more often, it's just one thing after another out there! It was awesome!"

"Good, because you're not leaving my sight again for the next three centuries."

Mr. L's face dropped as Jaydes walked off. "…_what_?"

"You heard me, Mr. L. You've caused quite enough trouble today."

"But it was _Dimentio's fault_! I didn't do anything!"

"Really? From what I saw, regardless of what Dimentio did, _you_ attacked first on _both_ fights… would you care to argue that?"

"Okay, so I was a little reckless, we both know that, but—"

Luigi placed a hand over Mr. L's mouth, whispering to him. "Let's think about this… The Queen of the Underwhere in on her way to wipe our arch nemesis out of existence forever… Do we really want to make her mad at _us_?"

"Uh… no?" Mr. L said stupidly.

"Good." Luigi patted his back. "Then let's stick with the problem at hand, alright?"

"What problem? Dimentio's going to be executed! Our troubles are over! She'll lock him away in Bonechill's prison for the rest of eternity!"

"_IF_ he is found guilty." Jaydes reminded them, stopping in front of the chamber doors.

"What are you talking about? Of _course_ he's guilty! Just look at everything he's done, before and _after_ his second chance!"

Jaydes sighed as the D-Men opened the door and she stepped inside. "I know, Mr. L… it seems Dimentio really was a lost cause after all."

Mr. L jumped in front of the Queen, stopping her as she entered the room. "Wait a minute… I wanna hear you say it."

"Please, Mr. L, this is not the time or place to make a fool of yourself." Jaydes said. "Do you want Dimentio judged or not?"

"Yes, but _first_, I wanna hear you say it." The Green Thunder answered smugly.

"Fine… you were right, Mr. L. There's no help for Dimentio, and there never will be. I was horribly wrong, and now everything about that 'stupid little jester' has backfired on me as proof. Happy?"

Mr. L grinned. "Yup."

"Good, now be a dear and escort my daughter back to the Overthere." Jaydes stepped around Mr. L and took a seat on her throne, frantic D-Men scurrying around her.

"What? No! I ain't goin' all the way up to the Overthere, just to drop off your snobby little daughter, and get kicked right back down here!"

"Then take Luigi with you." Jaydes said simply, waving them off.

"What did I do?" Luigi moaned. "I hate that stupid passage! It's just a staircase of death-waiting-to-happen!"

"Then, I suppose I'll be seeing you both very soon, won't I?" Jaydes said, grinning evilly. "D-Men! Show these three out, will you?"

Suddenly, D-Men surrounded Mr. L, Luigi, and Luvbi, ushering them back out into the corridor, the large stone doors slamming shut behind them. Simultaneously, the doors at the front of the room opened wide, revealing a troop of D-Men scurrying inside. They lead Dimentio in on the magic chain she had given them, then yanked on it, so Dimentio stumbled forward, falling down on his knees before the Queen, his face stopping about an inch off the ground.

Jaydes surveyed Dimentio carefully. He was certainly different than the day he left her realm, but in no means a good way. The mask he wore had a large crack over the left side, and a few pieces had splintered off. His clothes were dirty and torn, and the jester himself looked very weak and tired.

Above all else, Dimentio looked hopeless. It was painted on every feature of his face that he had given up entirely.

"Dimentio." Jaydes said, standing before him. "It has been brought to my attention that you are causing trouble again. Up to your old tricks, eh?"

Dimentio said nothing, staring at the ground.

Jaydes stepped forward so she was standing about a foot away from him. "Do you deny any of this?"

Again, Dimentio said nothing, refusing to even look up at her.

Jaydes grabbed the chin of Dimentio's mask, harshly jerking it upwards and forcing him to look up at her. "Answer me, jester. Do you deny this?"

"…No… your majesty…" Dimentio said flatly.

Jaydes released him, allowing him to fall back down to the ground. "Then, you admit you are guilty."

In spite of the situation, Dimentio found himself laughing. "Ah ha ha ha… I never said that, did I?"

Suddenly, Jaydes raked her claw-like fingers down the side of Dimentio's face, leaving three dark cuts on the right side of his mask and knocking him over onto his side, moaning in pain. "I'll not tolerate any of your games, Dimentio. Are you, or are you not, guilty of all charges?"

"That depends…" Dimentio choked out, gasping for breath. "To which accusation are you referring?"

"Luigi and Mr. L inform me that you _murdered_ the very girl I sent to _save_ you."

"They're liars." Dimentio said simply.

"Explain yourself."

"I know very well you sent Livi to save me… do you honestly think I would risk my own freedom for some petty game with them?"

"They seem quite convinced that you would."

"It's not true…" Dimentio finally sat up and looked Jaydes in the eyes. "You banished me to the Underwhere in the start for stealing the Chaos Heart, betraying Count Bleck, killing Mr. L and Nastasia, hypnotizing Luigi, manipulating my friends, and many others… I've done plenty of horrible things in my life, Jaydes, but I swear to you, I would never harm Livi."

"Why? You would betray anyone else in a heartbeat. What makes the fangirl any different?"

Dimentio sighed, looking down at his feet. "You told me to change, did you not? I _would_ have harmed anyone else… but, Livi is the first one to _trust_ me since you allowed me to return… I wouldn't betray her trust for anything."

* * *

Livi was off the boat before it hit the shore, Fawful jumping out close behind her. "Livi! Have the waiting!"

"We can't wait! Jaydes could be killing Dimentio right now!"

Kamek ran up to Livi, catching her arm and yanking her back. "Livi, hold on! You don't know what you're doing!"

"I didn't know what I was doing the other times I ran off!"

"And be looking where you had the getting!" Fawful said. "You were almost having the death! Twicing!"

"Just calm down a minute, and we can think of something!" Kamek insisted.

"No! We don't have any time! Dimentio needs us!"

"Well, what good are we to him if we screw something up? You need a _plan_ Livi!"

"Okay, here's what we'll do…" Livi said, clasping her hands together. "You two stay here… think of a _great_ plan… sort everything out all nice and neat… and _I'll_ go run inside and save Dimentio!"

"No, Livi!" Kamek tried to stop her, but Livi had already reached the castle steps, running up them as fast as she could. Fawful growled, chasing after her with Kamek closely following.

Just as Livi was about to yank open the chamber doors, they flew open, smacking Livi backwards into a column. Luigi and Mr. L stepped out, with Luvbi gloomily following them.

"Wha… Livi?" Luigi asked, stunned. "Oh my gosh! Livi, you're alive!"

Luigi ran over and hugged Livi tight as he could, Livi hugging back. "It's okay, Weegee! I'm alright, I swear!"

"Why do you always have to scare me like that?" Luigi asked, pulling back. "Why can't you be normal, just for once?"

Livi waved him off, picking herself up. "Normal's too boring. I like a little adventure in my day."

"Wait…" Luvbi mused, coming over to examine Livi. "Doth this not be ye fangirl Dimentio killed?"

"Yeah, that would be her." Mr. L said, looking very stunned.

"Yes, I'm alive!" Livi said, irritated. "Dimentio didn't kill me, so everything's good now, right?"

"Hell yeah—everything's perfect!" Mr. L exclaimed. "Dimentio's about to be Game-Overed for killing you, only to find that you're not dead at all!"

"So, yeah, everything's great!" Luigi said.

"No, no, no!" Livi said, waving them off spastically. "Everything's NOT good! Dimentio didn't try to kill me at all!"

"What?" They asked simultaneously.

"Apparently, we've had a bit of a mix-up…" Kamek said, a little sheepishly. "Dimentio wasn't trying to kill Livi… the cliff she was standing on crumbled on its own…"

"But Fawful said—"

"Dimentio _did_ have the pushing of her!" Fawful said. Then, after a harsh kick-in-the-back from Livi: "As he was _trying_ to have the catching…"

"I don't believe it." Luigi said. "Dimentio tried to _save_ you?"

"Yes! Dimentio's _changed_! Why aren't any of you believing me?"

"Well, it doesn't even matter now!" Mr. L snapped. "It's too late to fix anything, so just leave it alone!"

"Wha… what do you mean, it's too late?" Livi asked.

"My mother hath already determined yon jester's fate! She shall soon be ending yon game!" Luvbi threw in, looking frantic.

"Wait… 'soon'?" Livi asked. "As in… she hasn't killed him yet?"

"Nay. Yon D-Men hath just arrived with yon jester in tow."

"Then there's still time!" Livi said, rushing inside. Luvbi and the fandoms followed after her quickly as possible. "Where's she keeping him?" she asked Luvbi.

"They be-eth in yon throne room!" Luvbi said. She suddenly stopped, turning a corner, and motioning for Livi to follow.

Luvbi stopped in front of the doors to the throne room, pressing the side of her head to the door. "It doth be Dimentio! There still be-eth some time!"

Livi tried to yank open the door, but Mr. L caught her arm, yanking her back. "Oh, no you don't!"

"What are you doing? Let me go! We have to save Dimentio!" Livi said, struggling against him. Unfortunately, Mr. L was a lot stronger than she'd come to expect from Luigi, and Livi was having trouble fighting him off.

"No! Whether you're dead or not, Dimentio deserves to die! He never deserved a second chance for his past!"

"What?" Livi shrieked. "But, Jaydes is about to kill him, because of _this_! Dimentio's innocent!"

"You think I care _which_ crime he dies for?" Mr. L sneered. "Ha! As long as he finally gets it, I couldn't care less what for!"

Livi's face twisted in rage. "I don't believe you… Of all the crimes Dimentio's committed, of all the heartless things he's done, you're going to stand here and watch him be condemned for the one _good_ thing he's ever done for someone else?"

"Yeah, I am." Mr. L said. "And in about five seconds it's gonna be too late for you to do anything about it."

"NO!" Livi started shrieking, struggling again. "DIMENTIO! JAYDES, STOP!"

"She can't hear you!" Mr. L laughed.

"Mr. L, stop!" Kamek said, stepping forward. "This is wrong, and you know it!"

"It doesn't matter what's right and wrong anymore! Wake up, kiddies! You're in the Underwhere—a dark, never-ending nightmare full of liars, and villains, and cheaters, and murderers, and manipulators, and everything _terrible_about the world! Dimentio belongs down here with us!"

As Mr. L argued with Kamek, Livi twisted around to look over her shoulder at Fawful. She smiled, remembering one of his earlier schemes, and whispered to him so Mr. L couldn't hear. "Hey, Fawful… wouldn't happen to have any more Pocket-Chomps, would ya?"

Fawful smiled, then placed a small, red sphere in Livi's free hand.

"THINK FAST!" She yelled, popping the top off, and throwing it in Mr. L's face. Suddenly, a massive Chain Chomp exploded out of thin air, jumping around, knocking things over, and destroying everything in sight, but most importantly, ripping Mr. L and Livi apart.

Livi wasted no time running for the door and throwing it open. She was inside the throne room before anyone could stop her, running up to the throne at the front.

"JAYDES, STOP!"

The room fell still, Jaydes releasing Dimentio and allowing him to slump to the ground. "And what do we have here?"

Dimentio turned to look over his shoulder, his glowing eyes sparkling with delight. "L… Livi? You're… you're alive!"

"Yes, I'm alive!" Livi spread out her arms as the fandoms rushed up behind her. "I'm in perfectly stable conditions—nothing's wrong with me at all!"

"I see…" Jaydes mused. "And would you care to explain to me why you've interrupted an execution?"

"Queen Jaydes, with all due respect, you're wrong. Dimentio is completely innocent. He has done absolutely nothing that you've accused him of. And I _refuse_ to allow you to condemn him for it…"

"Oh, really?" Jaydes stepped forward, until she was standing directly over Livi, who looked defiantly up at her. "And why should I believe _you_ over everyone else?"

Livi thought for a while, looking from each of her fandoms, to Dimentio, and back to Jaydes. "Look… whatever happened in the past… whatever happened since he came back… whatever happened between him, and Mr. L, and Luigi…

"I know for a fact that Dimentio _has changed_… if he didn't… why would I betray everyone else to defend _him_?"


	21. Free at Last

Jaydes lifted Livi's chin, looking deep into her eyes. "You're not a very good liar."

"I'm not lying." Livi replied simply.

"Mr. L and Luigi each have a point though…" Jaydes challenged. "Do you not believe Dimentio deserves to die for everything else he has done?"

"Yes. He does." Livi stated.

"What?" Dimentio gasped. "I thought you were on my side!"

"Ha! Loser!" Mr. L laughed. "Too bad she knows we're right!"

Livi held out a hand to silence them both. "I'm. Not. Finished." She said bitterly.

There was silence around the room.

Livi turned back to Jaydes. "Dimentio does deserve the worst punishment possible for everything else. But… in this incident, he's innocent. And what's more, you have no right to condemn him anymore!"

"What?" Jaydes said, shocked. "What do you mean?"

"Luvbi…" Livi turned to face the Princess. "Remind us all… what were the terms of Dimentio's curse?"

Luvbi had to think a while, then she quoted her mother's words as best she could. "'Dimentio shall be given a chance at redemption. Should he choose to change for the better, thy curse shall be lifted, and thou shall return to life. However, should he fall back into his dark ways of old, thy curse shall fall, and thou shall perish, dwelling forever in thine own darkness.'"

Livi gestured to Luvbi.

"That doesn't prove anything!" Mr. L said, enraged. "You're crazy, Fangirl!"

Livi held up a hand again. "Will you let me handle this? Oi!"

"What is your point, Livi?" Jaydes inquired.

"You said Dimentio would be given a chance: Change for better, or return to his old ways… when I was on the cliff, and it started to fall, that was the chance."

Something caused Livi to suddenly lurch forward, a tremble running through her body as she steadied herself. A slight sense of panic crashing over her, Livi tore her gaze from the jester to her feet.

The cliff had begun to crack beneath her.

"He could catch me, or watch me fall. It was his choice."

The cliff shifted again, Livi sinking down a bit. Her instincts told her to move, to jump to the other part of the cliff, but then it would only crumble as well. "Dimentio! Please help!"

"Livi, it's alright, calm down!" Dimentio said soothingly. "Just take my hand—everything will be alright…"

"But, he didn't catch you, did he?" Mr. L cut in. "Fawful saw you fall, right?"

Fawful nodded. "She did have the falling… I had watching as she hit that which is the ground…"

"NO!" Fawful yelled, running towards her.

Everything stopped.

Fawful paused, frozen in place.

He had heard it—the loud, sickening thud.

Livi had hit the ground.

"There, ya see?" Mr. L sneered. "Then Dimentio didn't—"

"Of coursing…" Fawful mused. "Perhaps he did have the trying…"

The cliff shattered completely, Livi falling backwards off of it. Dimentio flew forward without even thinking, snatching at thin air as the fangirl fell down into the valley below.

"I did try!" Dimentio said. "I honestly tried to catch her—I didn't even think about it. But… I was too late…"

"Then why didn't you help her?" Luigi challenged. "You were the closest, why didn't you do something? You could have saved her life!"

"For the same reason I can't do anything around you! You always find some way to twist it around so something horrible is my fault! Even now, when I'm innocent!"

"We wouldn't have thought anything if you had helped her!" Kamek pointed out. "We thought you tried to kill her because you ran!"

Dimentio shook his head. "I thought the beanish child saw something…"

The smile began to fall from Fawful's face, the child slowing his pace to an eventual stand-still. He looked confused. There was another figure on the cliff. One that stood opposite her, and was slowly advancing. One that was floating.

"…The Jester… of Dementedness?" Fawful mused, very confused. There was no mistaking it—Dimentio floated on the cliff with Livi.

"After hearing his story, and finding me with a bloody, dying fangirl in my arms, who were you all going to believe?" Dimentio asked miserably.

"It doesn't matter who they believed." Livi said, taking the attention back to herself. "What matters is what actually happened—which is Dimentio tried to catch me."

Jaydes considered this a moment, then turned around to the jester. "Is this true, Dimentio?"

The jester nodded, attempting to stand up now. "I swear to you, Jaydes, I tried to catch her… I don't want to lose her…"

"For your own selfish purposes, right?" Luigi cut in.

Dimentio opened his mouth to say something, then stopped, looking away. "I once thought so…"

Livi gestured to him. "Ya see? Dimentio cares about me just like the others! We're only in this mess because it's him… What if that had been any of you in this situation?" She asked her fandoms, turning to face them. "If anyone else claimed innocence, you'd believe them without a second thought!"

"That's because Dimentio's a liar!" Mr. L said.

"Silence!" Jaydes commanded, raising a hand. No one in the room said another word. "Arguing with one another isn't going to get us anywhere. No one knows for sure what happened other than Dimentio—a liar, and Livi—allegedly insane."

"Hey!" Livi said indignantly, Luigi elbowing her as a signal to shut up.

"Luvbi and I will consult my mystic orb for the answers and see what actually happened. The remainder of you will stay here, with my D-Men on guard, until we return. Understood?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Anyone who starts a fight will be punished severely." She glared at Mr. L. "Clear?"

He nodded, glaring coldly at Dimentio.

Jaydes gave a signal to her D-Men, who took their positions around the room. Once they stopped scurrying around, two opened the larger doors at the front, and the Queen exited with her Princess, the doors slamming shut behind her.

As soon as they were sure the Queen was gone, Livi ran across the room and glomped Dimentio, hugging him tightly as they hit the floor. "Dimentio! I was so worried about you! Why ya gotta go off and scare me like that?"

Dimentio smiled, laughing a bit, despite his current situation. "Terribly sorry… I thought you would be more pre-occupied with being dead…"

"Ha!" Livi said, pushing herself off to sit beside him. "It takes a lot more than a hundred-foot-drop to kill me! Right, Fawful?"

Fawful laughed evilly. "We shall have the seeing."

"I accept your challenge!" Livi said, jabbing a finger in his direction. "Soon as we're back to the Mushroom Kingdom, you're dead meat, shorty!"

Fawful started laughing hysterically. "I have chortles! You are thinking you can have the beating of the one who is me?"

Livi squealed ecstatically. "'I have chortles!' That was so cute!"

Fawful suddenly stopped laughing. "Whating?" Rage made his cheeks flush bright red. "I am NOT possessing the cuteness!"

"Sure ya are!"

"Now, Livi…" Kamek said calmly, sitting down and leaning against a column. "Jaydes said no fighting."

"I'm NOT fighting! He's the one with anger-management problems!"

"I am notting!"

"Oh, so you DON'T run around screaming 'I HAVE FURY!'?"

"I would not be saying the so, if you were not GIVING me so much of the FURY!"

Livi squealed again, laying down and clapping her hands gleefully. "Oh my gosh! I give Fawful fury! How cute!"

"DO NOT HAVE THE SAYING OF THATNESS!" Fawful screamed.

Kamek rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "And they're fighting again…"

Mr. L leaned over and whispered to Luigi. "How can they be acting like this? It's like… suddenly nothing's wrong at all…"

"Well, at the moment, nothing is." Luigi said with a shrug. "In Livi's mind that is… all her fandoms are together and safe—for now at least… that's all she wants…"

"Are you kidding?" Mr. L snapped, mouth agape. "All she's done so far is stir up more and more trouble! By running away from us!"

"Exactly." Luigi bluntly stated. "But now that she's made up her mind to stay here with us—everything's all right with the world again."

Mr. L paused, watching Livi argue with Fawful, as Kamek and even Dimentio threw in random commentary and added to the verbal battle. "So, it's… it's always like this?"

"Yeah. Since the day we first met her."

"Huh…" Mr. L said to himself, looking down at his feet.

Luigi noticed his alter ego's wandering mind. "Something wrong?"

Mr. L shook his head. "Nah… it's just…" The Green Thunder looked up at Livi as she picked up Fawful, spinning around the room with him, humming a peculiar tune as he screamed and struggled frantically to free himself from her grasp. "It kinda… reminds me of Castle Bleck…"

"You mean… before all this mess happened?" Luigi said, as though stepping carefully through a mine field.

Mr. L nodded. "Yeah… we were all like… one big family… a pretty screwy family, constantly fighting, arguing, and messing with each other… but, we were still a family…"

Luigi looked over at Dimentio, smiling at laughing at the fangirl. "It's not too late, ya know…"

"Whadda ya mean?" A suddenly-cold voice demanded.

"Well… maybe Kamek's right…" Luigi mumbled sheepishly, looking down at his feet. "Dimentio's not dead yet… maybe we could still… forgive and forget…"

"Are you crazy?" Mr. L asked, eyes narrowing. "Forgive him for everything he did to us? Luigi, you of all people should understand!"

"Look, I know it's crazy…" Luigi said, turning away. "But… the past is the past… there's no changing it, so we might as well accept it and move on."

"But, we have a chance to make it better! We can get rid of Dimentio once and for all!"

"And what if Jaydes lets him live? Then what are you going to do, huh?"

Mr. L prepared to shoot back a fierce comment, paused, then quickly shut his mouth, bowing his head and shoving his hands in his pockets as his gaze flew to the floor.

"Maybe they're all right, ya know?" Luigi suggested softly. "Dimentio forgot the past… he's working hard to change, no matter how hard we try to stop him… why can't we do the same?"

"…because we're idiots…" Mr. L said after a very long time.

Luigi laughed softly. "Yeah… maybe we are…"

"Dance with me, Dimentio!" Livi suddenly shrieked, pouncing on the jester and pulling him up onto his feet.

"What? I can't dance, Livi!" Dimentio said, laughing as he wobbled unsteadily with Livi.

"Sure you can! You danced with me earlier!"

"Ah ha ha ha… that was before Jaydes ordered me bound and tied." He pointed out, holding up a pair of chained wrists for the fangirl's inspection.

"Oh… well, we can fix that, no problem!" Livi said, fiddling with the chains.

"What?" Kamek turned away from steadying a very dizzy Fawful to rush over to Livi. "Hey, don't do that! Jaydes will kill you!"

"No, she won't! We're just going to have a dance!" Livi replied airily.

"But, Livi, Dimentio's going to slip off!" He insisted.

"No, he won't…" Livi said, smiling up at Dimentio. "I trust him…"

Dimentio smiled, elated. Livi finished her work and the chains fell off to the ground with a clanking noise that echoed through the throne room. The fandoms each gasped, Luigi and Mr. L looking extremely uneasy. The D-Men around the room started chattering to themselves, none quite sure what to do.

Livi took a few steps back, then offered a hand to the jester as he rose to float a few inches off the ground. "Alright, Dimentio… prove yourself to Jaydes. Take my hand and dance with me, or slip off and take the freedom you deserve…"

There was a long, tense silence around the room.

Then, Dimentio floated forward, smiling sweetly. He reached out and laid his gloved hand very lightly in Livi's, bowing down before her. "My darling… I would be happy to honor you with a dance…"

Livi smiled. Their hands clasped together, Dimentio winding an arm around Livi's waist as he pulled her closer and Livi placing a hand on his shoulder. The two began twirling about the floor, Dimentio lifting Livi up every now and then to spin her around in mid-air, making her giggle and laugh.

Luigi allowed himself to relax ever so slightly. "I don't believe it… he didn't run…"

"You kiddin'?" Mr. L asked, still looking stunned. "He didn't run, he didn't attack, he didn't lie or trick… he didn't do anything…"

Suddenly, everyone in the room fell still as the loud sound of a turning lock echoed throughout the chamber. Then, the doors at the front of the room swung wide open to allow Jaydes and Luvbi to step inside. Jaydes' expression was unreadable—amused at the best, but Luvbi was simply elated, her heart-shaped wings beating frantically as she fluttered around her mother

"Dimentio." Jaydes called, stopping in the center of the room as the doors shut with a loud bang. She extended a long finger and beckoned the jester over to her. "Come here, please…"

Dimentio looked horrified, his smile falling and his eyes widening in terror. He looked over at Livi, who nodded sweetly, reassuring him. The jester gulped nervously, then slowly released Livi and floated over to where Jaydes stood, his head bowed to the floor.

The Queen reached out and grabbed one of Dimentio's wrists, holding it up to her face, as though it were necessary to examine it closely. Dimentio cringed fearfully, his arm going limp, afraid to resist her. "You've removed your chains…" She said, stating the obvious.

Dimentio nodded, still staring very hard at the floor.

Jaydes dropped his hand, allowing it to fall carelessly back to his side. "Your magic has obviously returned as well…" She noted, pacing around him, noticing that he was about a foot off the floor. "And yet, you're still here… making no attempts to run away or teleport out whatsoever."

Dimentio nodded again, terrified to say anything.

"You are aware, even with the seal on the door, you could have easily gotten away?"

Another shy nodding of the head, the jester still afraid to look up.

"Would you care to explain to me why you are still here? Why you didn't run? Why you were given the opportunity at all?"

Dimentio gulped nervously again, still staring downwards, afraid to look up at her. "Livi, ah… asked for a… a dance… She took off the chains… so I could dance with her…"

Jaydes thought about that a moment, then, without saying a word, turned away from the jester and walked towards Livi. Dimentio's head shot up as realization hit. He snapped his fingers and was instantly between Jaydes and Livi. "Wait!" he begged.

Jaydes stopped, raising an eyebrow. However surprised she was, she made no effort to stop Dimentio as he continued.

"It isn't Livi's fault…" He explained. "I knew you wanted to keep me locked up, and Kamek even pointed it out to her. I made no effort to stop her, though, so let the blame fall to me… Livi hasn't done anything wrong."

Livi looked at Dimentio curiously, stunned. "Are you… are you defending me?"

Dimentio thought about it, looking a tad stunned himself, then whispered to her: "It would appear so…"

Jaydes smiled down at the jester, who still looked very unnerved, and maybe even a tad shocked at himself. "I know very well what happened, Dimentio… I saw Livi remove the chains, and I saw her present you with the chance to run, and you didn't take it… you instead chose to make her happy…"

Dimentio hung his head. "I knew if I were foolish enough to run, you would only punish the rest of them for allowing it… I couldn't let that happen…"

"Oh my gosh, you have changed!" Livi said, throwing her arms around Dimentio's shoulders.

"I also saw…" Jaydes said, turning to face Luigi and Mr. L. "The incident at the cliff, and exactly what happened there."

Everyone suddenly tensed. Luigi and Mr. L exchanged a nervous glance. Dimentio cringed fearfully closer to Livi. Jaydes glanced around the room, no expression at all, though obviously enjoying the painful suspense she was causing. At long last, she spoke…

"Dimentio is innocent." She declared. "Livi fell by accident, and the jester did, indeed, attempt to catch her."

Dimentio's smile spread wide across his face. Livi spun him around and glomped him, he hugging her tightly back, each of them laughing uncontrollably. Luigi and Mr. L, meanwhile, were stunned speechless. Even after their last conversation, neither could believe the words they had just heard—Dimentio is innocent. How could it be so? Maybe he wasn't guilty but, innocent? Could he really be?

Jaydes beckoned Dimentio forward. He slowly released Livi, floating over to Jaydes, still positvely elated. She nodded to him, the corners of her mouth curving slightly, and Dimentio's smile instantly widened—he knew what that meant.

The jester dropped down to the ground, landing on one knee and bowing his head before the Queen. Jaydes stretched a hand over his head, and tightly shut her eyes. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of white light, filling the room and briefly blinding all. Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone.

Dimentio slowly opened his eyes, looking up at Jaydes, seeming confused. Jaydes smiled, and nodded. "Congratulations, Dimentio… you have completed your mission, and are now free of your curse!"

Dimentio's mouth slowly began to twitch as he shakily forced himself to rise, looking himself over. "I don't believe it… I'm… I'm free?"

"Well, not quite…" Jaydes said sternly. "You have managed to redeem yourself as I instructed, but there is, however, a slight catch in your return to life."

Dimentio looked confused. "A catch?"

Jaydes nodded. "Yes… Should you be just another Shayde, this wouldn't need to be bothered with, but I plucked you out of Bonechill's Prison, as one of the few willing to chase after redemption."

"You're kidding, right?" Mr. L asked, thoroughly confused at this point. "Dimentio wanted redemption?"

The jester shrugged off-handedly. "Staying a villain or not, life is life. If I had a chance to get out of here, I wanted it, no matter what the cost."

"And the cost for your life…" Jaydes continued. "Is that you cannot simply return to your old life on your own… you will be forever bound to another—someone I can trust to take care of you, and keep you on the path of goodness. And, in return, you will keep them safe and out of harm's way. The two of you will balance each other, in a way."

"Alright, well…" Dimentio had an uneasy feeling about this. "Who, dare I ask, is this other person to be?"

"Well, since you will be returning to your former life in Castle Bleck…" Jaydes mused. "Perhaps Nastasia would be a good match… she has already been taking good care of you…"

"No!" Livi shrieked, stepping forward. "Nastasia's so mean to him! She and O'Chunks do nothing but abuse him!"

Dimentio hung his head, holding out a hand to silence Livi. "Livi, please… If that's what it takes to finally be free, I suppose… I'll just… have to put up with it…"

"No, Dimentio!" Livi ran over and hugged him. "You can't do that! Once Nastasia has that kind of power, she'll kill you! It'll be worse than staying down here! What kind of miserable life is that?"

"Be that as it may…" the jester sighed miserably. "Like I said: life is life… I'm willing to pay any price for it…"

"But, you can't do this! Jaydes, please, there has to be another way!" Livi begged, releasing Dimentio and running up to approach to Queen.

She simply shook her head. "I'm sorry, Livi, but that is my requirement… Dimentio must be bound to someone, and if not Nastasia, then who else?"

Livi's mind raced as Jaydes stepped around her to talk to Dimentio. Once she cast the next spell, it would be too late, and Dimentio would be eternally bound to Nastasia. He'd be miserable, completely at her mercy—and Livi wasn't about to let that happen. If she did, Dimentio would go right back to the way he was when Livi abducted him from Castle Bleck—alone, miserable, and a shell of the man he once was. The jester's fangirl couldn't bear to see his smile taken away once and for all…

"Mimi!" Livi suddenly shrieked, whipping around to face the Queen.

The room fell silent, Jaydes and Dimentio both turning slowly to face Livi. Jaydes stepped forward ever so slightly and raised an eyebrow to the fangirl. "What are you talking about?"

"Mimi!" Livi said again. "Tie Dimentio to Mimi! They used to be best friends—Mimi depended on him for everything! She would be more than happy to watch him for you!"

Jaydes turned to face Dimentio. "Is this true?"

Dimentio laughed sheepishly. "It would seem the girl has taken a bit of a liking to me… She even befriended me yet again when I first returned to Castle Bleck with my curse..."

"Is that so?" Jaydes mused. She looked up at Livi, smiling. "Alright then, Livi, I'll see what I can do… but, Mimi being a child, I will have to consult Nastasia on it."

Livi smiled, nodding. "Alright, fair enough."

Jaydes nodded, exiting the room once again. She instructed Luvbi to stay behind, and make sure no more chaos occurred, and the D-Men were ready if anything did happed. When she was gone, Livi bounded back over to Dimentio, hugging him tightly. The jester still seemed stunned, hardly reacting at all. Livi pulled back, smiling softly at him. "You okay?"

Dimentio nodded, though still staring down at the floor. "I never… I wouldn't have thought to ask Mimi… for any sort of assistance…"

Livi stroked the side of Dimentio's mask, running her fingers over Jaydes' scars. "Don't worry about it, Dimentio… everything'll be fine… you'll see…"

Dimentio didn't seem to hear her, still thinking about Mimi. He looked up to Livi, smiling softly. "You know what she told me?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"What's that?" Livi asked sweetly, lowering her voice as well.

"She said… I was her best friend…" Dimentio said, his eyes lighting up a bit.

Livi smiled, hugging him tightly. "I know, Dimentio. She tells me almost every day. She really missed you, and she cares about you very much."

Dimentio smiled, laughing softly to himself at the thought of Mimi obsessing over him, and hugged Livi tightly back, allowing an odd sense of relief to wash over him at last.


	22. Crazier than I Thought

"Ya know, Liv… maybe you shouldn't be… I dunno… _in _the fountain."

"I probably shouldn't be in the Underwhere, either. And yet—HERE I AM!"

The fandoms and their fangirl were all gathered around the Fountain of Life—a different one, much to the fangirl's simultaneous excitement and displeasure. This one was located in a courtyard of Jaydes' Palace, and the life-giving waters flowed crystal blue, rather than neon orange.

As Luigi stated, Livi was currently _in _the fountain, happily splashing away, marveling at the glittering waves she made. Her fandoms were all sitting on or around the edge of the fountain—all except for Dimentio, that is.

After Jaydes had made contact with Nastasia, she had come back into the room, asked Dimentio to come with her a moment, and the two had disappeared. After waiting for a good half-hour, two D-Men came in to escort the fangirl and fandoms out to the courtyard to wait for the Queen.

"Okay, seriously—where is Dimentio?" Livi demanded, slamming her fists in the water. "That Queen better not have killed him! Not after I busted my butt to save him! And _you _can shut up!" She added, jabbing a finger in Mr. L's direction.

"Me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "What the hell did I do?"

"Oh nothing at all, Mr. In-about-five-seconds-it'll-be-too-late." Livi mocked, quoting the very words he had tried to stop Dimentio's rescue with.

Mr. L turned away from her, crossing his arms over his chest. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about… I had my reasons…"

"D'awww… Is Mr. L being all angsty? That's totally adorable!" Livi exclaimed, scooting closer to Mr. L's end of the wall. "I love a good angst fic—especially with you in it! Oh, what was that really good one… uh… L-Power? No… that's a game quo—L-Mode! That was it! It was _awesome_!"

Mr. L blinked at her. "…what are you talking about?"

"Fanfiction!" Livi exclaimed, for some reason, believing that clarified something.

Mr. L shook his head slightly. "No, that's… you're not making any sense!"

"Mr. L, she's a fangirl." Kamek pointed out, not looking up from the finger he was twirling in the waters. "Are you really going to attempt to reason with her?"

"Weeeeegeeeee!" Livi started to wail, flopping on her back in the water. "I want my laaaaaaptooooop… I need fanfiction…" She suddenly sprung back up. "Holy crap, I gotta write this down!" She gasped dramatically. "This could totally be a Dimentio comeback fic! And totally _not _one that involves him stealing the Chaos Heart to take out his revenge on Blumiere!"

Kamek waved his free arm at Livi. "I rest my case."

"So, what are you doing, Kamek, ole' buddy?" Livi wondered. She suddenly gasped, flipping over to stare at Kamek's finger. "Oooooh… the water looks so pretty when you touch it… are you doing a trick?"

"I'm restoring my magic." Kamek explained, folding his free arm over the stone wall and resting his head on it. "I'm absolutely exhausted. Guess I'm getting too old for this kind of crap…"

Livi squealed, clapping her hands. "That was adorable! Besides, you're not too old… you're old enough to be super-smart, but that's okay, because you're KAMEK, which automatically makes you kick-ass."

Kamek smirked, seeming to perk up a bit. "Oh, really? Interesting logic you've got there."

"Fangirl logic." Livi explained with a nod of the head. "It's what all the cool people use."

"Is that being the same logic by which you were nearly having the over of games?" Fawful asked, grinning smugly as he sat down in the fountain beside Livi.

Livi glared at him, splashed a wave in his direction, then yelled, "Shut up! It wasn't my freaking fault!"

"Then whose fault doth it be?" Everyone turned around to see Luvbi coming out of the castle to flutter over and join the group. "Pray tell, how did thee become perched upon yonder cliff?"

Livi considered her question carefully a moment, then bluntly said, "Who the heck says 'yonder' anymore? I mean _seriously_… is that really what she just said?"

"Really?" Luigi said. "That's what you're going to say to the Princess of the Overthere? _Really_?"

Livi pursed her lips, then decided, "No, see, I think I like Luvbi better as Princess of the _Underwhere_. She just fits better here. It goes more with her personality—I think she's more like her mom than her dad."

Luvbi smiled somewhat. "Ay, thank thee… I doth _much _prefer mother's realm to father's…"

"I do too." Livi agreed, jumping out of the fountain. "The Underwhere kicks ass."

"Oh, really?" Kamek asked curiously. "And why is that? What does the Underwhere have that the Overthere doesn't that makes it so much better?"

Livi gaped at him, as though it weren't obvious. "Mr. L! Duh!"

Mr. L smirked, laughing to himself. "If you say so, fangirl."

"Are you kidding?" Livi demanded, shocked. "You're, like, totally amazing!" She paused a moment, looked over herself, then looked between herself and the fountain. "…don't you love how, as soon as I get out of the fountain, I'm magically dry?"

Kamek shrugged. "The waters are highly magical."

"Don't explain it!" Livi yelled, spastically waving her arms. "That ruins it!" She turned back to Mr. L, who was now sitting on the opposite side of the fountain she was standing on. "Anyway—back to you! You're totally amazing! I mean, you're _Luigi_—which, in itself, is about as amazing as it gets—but then, you're a _villain_, which is, like, instant extra cool points!"

Mr. L laughed darkly, raising a gloved hand to pull his cap over his eyes as he looked away from her. "…that so?"

Livi sighed dreamily, pointing at Mr. L. "See? See, that right there. That's freaking _sexy_."

"What?" Luigi said, almost indignantly. "You never call the rest of us sexy. Not even Dimentio."

Livi shrugged. "None of you are Mr. L, and—OMIGOSH where the heck is Dimentio! I miss my little jester!"

"And again, I have saying…" Fawful whispered to Kamek and Luigi. "We are seeing who the favorite of the fandoms is being."

The three of them laughed. Mr. L did not.

"Oh, what's the matter, Mr. L?" A melodic voice drifting into the courtyard playfully wondered. "Not jealous of the _favorite_, I hope?"

Livi whipped around to face the source of the voice, a wide smile across her face. "DIMENTIO!"

Indeed, the jester was floating at the top of the steps, leaning on the hand he had rested on a nearby column. He was grinning playfully, as in his days of old, with the mischievous glint lighting up his eyes once more. Within half a second, Livi had tackled into him, and as Dimentio lost his balance, the two went tumbling down the stairs.

"Good Grambi, Livi!" Dimentio yelled, pushing at the screaming fangirl. "Get off of me!"

"NO!" Livi said, hugging him tighter. "I totally missed you! Where the heck were you?"

"Jaydes was restoring me to life…" Dimentio said.

Everyone went silent.

Livi's head shot up from Dimentio's chest—her expression unreadable. "Wait… you mean… she…"

Dimentio smiled wider, nodding his head. "It's done. I've been bound to Mimi—I'm going back to Castle Bleck."

"Omigod…" Livi breathed, still clearly stunned. Slowly, the fangirl's face broke into an elated smile. "Omigod! Dimentio!" With that, the jester hit the ground again, being absolutely choked and smothered by the screaming, spazzing fangirl.

"C'mon, Livi, let him breathe!" Luigi called, running over to pry the fangirl off of Dimentio. She pounced on the hero next, continuing to scream as Kamek stepped carefully around them to offer Dimentio a hand.

The jester gratefully took the assistance, pulling himself up to a standing position. "Tired?" Kamek asked as he lead Dimentio over to the fountain.

Dimentio laughed, smiling nervously. "More than I can tell…"

"Aren't we all…" Kamek agreed, taking a seat on the stone wall. "Here… the waters not only heal wounds—they restore magic as well…"

"Really?" Dimentio wondered, peering curiously into the water. He hesitantly reached out a hand to let the falling waters crash over his forearm. A look of relief instantly crossed his mask as he sighed heavily. "Oh my Grambi… I've only just realized how exhausted I am…" With that, the jester's head hit the wall, his arms falling limply to the cool, refreshing waters.

"Jester of Dementedness." Fawful stated, coming over to plop down in the water before Dimentio.

Without lifting his head, Dimentio tiredly said, "Am I to take that horribly rude yet amazingly accurate title as a reference to myself?"

"Yessing, you are." Fawful sneered.

"Fine." Dimentio said in an equal tone, lifting his head slightly to peer at Fawful. "What is it, child of annoyingness?"

Fawful's eyes narrowed defensively at the comment, but his gaze slowly softened as he turned to look away.

Dimentio rolled his eyes slightly. "Come on, Fawful, what is it?"

"I just… had thinking…" Fawful mumbled, fiddling with his tattered cloak. "I was… being, um…"

Dimentio smiled softly, reaching up to tussle Fawful's hair around a bit. "Don't worry about it Fawful—I'm sure my reaction would be quite similar if I saw you shove my little Mimi off a cliff."

Fawful immediately swelled up. "Are you saying I am being in love with the Fangirl of Obsessions? Because I am _notting!_"

"Oh?" Dimentio said, casting a mischievous glance to Kamek. "I do wonder why that would so suddenly spring into your mind, because it wasn't what I was implying at all!"

Dimentio promptly reeled backwards, coughing out the mouthful of water that had suddenly been flung into his face. "Have shutting of upness!" Fawful demanded, standing up and storming away, calling over his shoulder a final—"You stupid jester of _stupidness!_"

Dimentio wiped the rest of the water from his mask. "Hm. Touchy."

"Not five minutes into your new life, and already I find you up to no good…" Dimentio and Kamek spun around to see Jaydes descending the Palace steps, Luvbi fluttering by her side.

The jester gave a nervous laugh. "Ah ha ha ha… Of course not, your majesty…"

Dimentio was about to continue, but was interrupted by the most horrified look on Luvbi's face. Before he could inquire what she was staring at, she blurted out "Is there naught to be done for thine mask?"

"Hm? My mask?" Dimentio wondered. He hesitantly peered back into the waters, and immediately took on a shocked expression himself at sight of his reflection. "Oh dear…" he mumbled, running a gloved hand over the cracks and scratches that covered his mask. He'd been in many horrible fights, but he'd never seen his precious mask take such damage before. "That's going to need a bit of mending…"

Jaydes began to glide off again (Luvbi tried to follow, but was quickly snatched up by the Fangirl), waving to Dimentio as she called "Try the waters, Dimentio… it should mend them like normal wounds."

Ignoring the chaos in all the others around her, Jaydes glided around the Fountain to find Mr. L sulking alone. "A poor decision, L…" the Queen mused. "One would think you would be enjoying your last of freedom—at the very least, bidding your friends farewell…"

"The enemy of my enemy of my friend…" Mr. L recited in a dark voice, never glancing up at the Queen. He continued, turning his stone-cold eyes to Jaydes as he said, "The friend of my enemy is my enemy as well."

Jaydes sighed, shaking her head as she looked over him somewhat pityingly. "Can't you let this go, Mr. L?"

"Never." He growled as he threw himself off the fountain and stormed past Jaydes.

The Queen took a deep breath to steady herself, then quickly followed after him. "So that's it then? After all you've been through just now, you'll still harbor that awful hatred?"

"And why shouldn't I?" Mr. L demanded, jerking around to face her—fury flooding his eyes.

"Mr. L, you've seen how Dimentio's changed!" Jaydes said sharply, gesturing back to the others. "What more proof do you need?"

"You think this changes anything?" Mr. L yelled, advancing on her angrily. "You think this just erases what he did to me and makes everything okay now? The past still happened! I'm still stuck down here because of him!"

"You're down here because of him." Jaydes hissed. "You're _trapped _because of that hatred of yours, and I've told you that countless times. If you could just forgive Di—"

"I… will _never_… forgive him…" Mr. L growled, shaking in rage as he glared defiantly up at the Queen. "I can't… I _won't_…"

"But, Mr. L, this is your _chance_…" Jaydes called as Mr. L turned and stormed away from her. "This could be the last you ever see of Dimentio!"

"_Good riddance!_" Mr. L shot back, jumping up to clamber over the courtyard walls.

"Pity." Jaydes said to herself—though the raised her voice to ensure Mr. L could hear. "And to think all Dimentio has done for you."

"…done for me?" Mr. L said quietly as he stopped, standing on top of the wall. He spun around to face her again. "Done for _me?_" He yelled. "What the hell _has _he done for me? Tricked me! Lied to me! Used me! _Murdered _me!"

Jaydes opened her mouth, but was cut off by Mr. L continuing—"Ya know what? I'm _done! _I'm done playing this stupid game with him! If I never see that Grambi-damned jester again, it'll be too freaking soon!"

Mr. L turned on his heels, his back to Jaydes as he quietly seethed, "I'm outta here… L-ater, Jaydes…"

Just before Mr. L could jump however, something stopped him. He couldn't jump down. He couldn't run off. He couldn't make himself forget. He couldn't leave everything behind. He couldn't do anything but stand there and listen to Jaydes say something he never thought he'd hear, and he so wished he hadn't.

"That jester's crazier than I thought—why would he trade his life for the freedom of a sorry scum like you?"

The Underwhere hadn't been this quiet in a thousand years, at least.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Mr. L turned to look over his shoulder to the Queen, the most horrified look on his face. "…wh… _what? _…what did you say?"

Jaydes smirked, a devious gleam in her eyes. "I don't need to repeat myself, I've called you worse before. You can't be that shocked."

"No, no, no…" Mr. L mumbled, jumping down and clumsily stumbling back to the Queen. "A… about… D-dimentio… his… li… life…"

Jaydes leaned down, her face mere inches from Mr. L's. "After all _you've _done to _him_… why in all the dimensions would he trade the life he just earned… for _your freedom?_"

Mr. L's eyes slowly narrowed, his shoulders stiffening up. "…he wouldn't."

Jaydes grinned smugly. "And yet… he did."


	23. You've Got it all Wrong

Dimentio scooped up more water in his gloved hands—amazed that still they were not even dampened—and promptly splashed the waters over his mask. He shook most of the water off, then leaned over the edge of the fountain to peer at his reflection again.

Luckily, Jaydes seemed to be right. The scratches had vanished completely, and most cracks healed over. All that now remained were the delicate cracks around his eye and a rather large chip out of the black half of his mask. Dimentio frowned, reaching up to lightly finger the chip.

"Sumthin' wrong?" Dimentio blinked at the water, somewhat stunned, then slowly lifted his gaze upward and just to his right. He had not been mistaken—Mr. L stood there, hands deep in his pockets, watching him.

Dimentio offered the Green Thunder a shaky smile, quickly turning back to the water. "Um… possibly… there may be a piece missing from my mask—its not healing over properly…"

The jester didn't have to turn around to know what face Mr. L was making. "…part of your face is missing?" he asked, the disgust in his tone assuring Dimentio his assumption was correct.

Dimentio laughed, fingering the chip again. "The mask is a façade, Mr. L… though used as a representation of my true face, it most certainly is not…"

Dimentio smiled at the expression he found on Mr. L's face. _And this would be the usual point in our conversation at which you've realized what a terrible decision it was to speak with me…_ Dimentio thought to himself, turning back to the waters.

Mr. L shook off the thoughts running through his mind—apparently deciding, with Dimentio, it was always better not to ask. "Okay, uh… anyway… when are ya headin' back?"

Dimentio splashed his mask again, wiping the water away before asking. "Back? To where, might I ask?"

"Uh… Castle Bleck…" Mr. L clarified, taking a seat on the edge of the fountain. Dimentio turned so the Green Thunder wouldn't seen his expression scrunch up in confusion. Why suddenly so friendly? Something was wrong here. Very wrong.

"Ah… whenever the Fangirl is through playing, I suppose…" Dimentio said simply, turning to nod at Livi. She was seated on the stairs, her expression perplexed, as Luvbi floated before her—clearly irritated. By the sound of their conversation, Luvbi was teaching Livi how to properly speak like a Nimbi.

Dimentio smiled, recalling Livi's expression on Mimi's face. Dimentio was using his musical tones and silly similes to teach Mimi how to be Merlee for some trick she wanted to pull on the heroes. He'd found her request odd, but according to Mimi, it "just wasn't good enough for those stupid-heads the first time so shut up."

Dimentio turned back around to find Mr. L staring at the ground very intensely. Hm. How peculiar—as long as the jester had known him, and as close as their relationship had been, Dimentio could have sworn he had _never_ seen an expression on Mr. L's face quite like that.

"…Mr. L?" Dimentio gently called. "Is… is something wrong?"

Mr. L shook his head. Dimentio waited a few moments more, but he never said anything.

"So, um…" Dimentio said nervously, dipping his fingers in the water to run them carefully over his eyelid. Excellent—that was working much better. "…I noticed Jaydes pull you aside… she say anything of interest?"

Mr. L shrugged. "Um… kinda…" he said, sounding somewhat uneasy.

"Kind of?" Dimentio smiled mischievously. "…how so?"

Mr. L looked up at the sky, laughing nervously to himself. "I think she's off her royal rocker…"

"Oh?" Dimentio asked, brightening up. "And what makes you say that?"

Mr. L shook his head, lifting a hand to scratch the back of his head. "She said… she's got this… crazy… _delusion_… that you're…" The man paused to laugh again. "…that you were gonna… stay here… so _I_ could go back… issat crazy or what?"

Dimentio was staring very quietly at the water, his expression unreadable.

Mr. L's smile twitched nervously. "I mean… c'mon, that's… that's crazy, right?"

Dimentio slowly smiled, though he didn't look very amused. "…she wasn't supposed to say anything until I'd left…"

Mr. L's expression dropped to absolute horror in point-five-seconds flat. "…it's true…" he finally whispered.

Dimentio slowly nodded, smiling as he pushed himself up off the ground to sit beside Mr. L. "Indeed it is… I spoke with Jaydes, and she's willing to allow me a trade-off of sorts… I can send you back outside, if I would take your place in this realm…"

Mr. L's eyebrows pushed together. "You mean… stay here in the Underwhere…"

Dimentio sighed shakily, looking at the ground. "No, ah… I'd be sent… back… back to the Prison…"

"What?" Mr. L snapped. "You—you're _insane_!"

Dimentio smiled warmly. "Why thank you, Mr. L—I don't recall ever receiving a compliment from you before!"

"Shut the hell up!" Mr. L yelled, giving Dimentio a good shove. "Look you can't do this! You've busted your ass and crawled through more hell than I know for this—you're not gonna give it up for me!"

"But, I _did_ all this for you." Dimentio said quietly, his expression desperate.

"I don't care what you—" Mr. L abruptly shut himself up, turning to the jester with that same horrified, stunned expression. "…what?"

Dimentio sighed, looking down at the ground. "…Mr. L, you've been here long enough… have you ever heard of Queen Jaydes releasing someone from Bonechill's Prison, simply because they craved redemption?"

Mr. L looked away as well. "…no… I guess not…"

"That's because it doesn't happen…" Dimentio's eyes slid closed, his body slumping over as though he were still exhausted. "…Jaydes released me not to restore myself… but to right my wrongs… I'd done so much damage… I'd left so many things suspended in mid-air… I couldn't leave like that…

"There's no way I could bring back the Count to Nastasia and O'Chunks… so for months I've served as their slave and punching-bag… I let them have the revenge they wanted…

"And my poor little Mimi… the last she saw of her Charming Magician… I…" Dimentio cringed a bit, choking on his own voice. "…I was a _monster_… I betrayed everyone… I shattered all the hope and trust in her heart… I had to take that from her… I had to find a way to restore her love… to keep her the sweet, innocent little girl she always wanted to be…

"All that remains of my debts is _you_…" Dimentio lifted his mismatched eyes—flooded with pain and grief—to Mr. L. "I stole away a life that was not mine to take… I've trapped you in this prison… I destroyed your trust in me, the friendship we'd formed…

"So, while I was mending everything else I'd left broken… Jaydes had me chasing redemption… She said it'd be enough to get me back to life—back to the mortal's realm… she said, if I wished… I could choose to send _you_ back instead…"

"But…" Mr. L slowly shook his head, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Come to think of it, he probably couldn't. "…why would you do that for me?" Mr. L demanded, suddenly turning to narrow his eyes at the jester. "You betrayed me. You _murdered_ me. I'm finding it a little hard to believe you suddenly care so much."

"Suddenly?" Dimentio asked, sounding shocked. He closed his eyes, slowly shaking his head. "I've always cared for yo—"

"Don't give me that shit!" Mr. L suddenly roared, jumping to his feet. "If we've been such great '_friends_' all this time, why the hell did you KILL me? How could you betray me like that?"

Dimentio's eyes narrowed. "…I never intended to betray you. You've got it all wrong."

"Oh, no!" Mr. L yelled. "Don't you turn around and point the crazy finger at me! I know what freaking happened! You—"

"Stabbed you in the back, murdered you, betrayed you, lied to you!" Dimentio yelled, standing up as well. "You think I don't know what I've done! I'm trying to tell you that was never my INTENT! I didn't want to hurt you—you were my best friend!"

Mr. L flashed the jester a twisted smile. "You're full of shit! When you caught me alone, snapped your fingers, and blew me up… what did you honestly _think_ was gonna happen?"

Dimentio's shoulders jerked upwards, his entire body going rigid. "…do you honestly think I intended to _lose_ that final fight? I _thought_ ultimate power was mine."

"Well, _clearly_, you thought wrong." The Green Thunder sneered.

"I thought I was in control." Dimentio went on, his voice an icy hiss. "I thought time and space were at my mercy. I thought I was to be ruler of all dimensions."

"Didn't work out so well, did it, O great King Dimentio?" Mr. L said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he dramatically rolled his eyes.

Dimentio was trembling in rage by this point. "I thought… if such were true… I could _come back_ for you… I thought I could bring you back…"

Mr. L blinked. Of every psychotic, strange, twisted thing he'd ever heard Dimentio say, he was totally blindsided.

Dimentio relaxed ever so slightly. "Clearly… I thought wrong…"

An eternity of silence passed between the two. Mr. L looked away, scratching the back of his head. "I… I didn't… know… what the hell am I supposed to say to that?"

Dimentio smiled softly, placing a hand on either of Mr. L's shoulders. "Absolutely nothing… Just walk up to Jaydes, and tell her you accept my offer…"

Mr. L's eyes went wide. "Wh… what? Hell no! You've busted your ass for this redemption—I'm not gonna leave you to rot in Bonechill's Prison!"

Dimentio laughed, shaking his head. "I couldn't care less what happened to me… It'll be worth it to know my debts have been repaid… Nastasia and O'Chunks are content at last, my little Mimi is happy as can be—you'll take care of her, won't you? And now you'll finally be free as well…"

Mr. L looked crushed. "…but… I don't…" He slowly shook his head, unable to choke out a coherent sentence. "…how could I… ever… repay you?"

Dimentio laughed again. "I don't want payment. You don't have to do a single thing. Just tell Jaydes you accept—I've done everything else for you."

-

"Livi, seriously, we need to get going." Luigi said for the fifteenth time.

"But we can't yet!" Livi argued, looking around frantically. "We're gonna leave Dimentio!"

Fawful sighed dramatically. "Look, here he has being."

"Where?" Livi demanded, standing on tip-toes and grabbing Fawful's head for balance.

"Have the releasing of me!" Fawful shrieked, swatting at her hands.

"Owie!" The fangirl cried. "Weegee, Fawful hit me!"

"She had starting of it!" Fawful yelled.

"Here we go again…" Luigi moaned.

"Oh, please…" Kamek rolled his eyes. "You should try babysitting the Koopalings…"

Luigi's eyes went wide. "How the hell are you still in one piece?"

"I have no idea." Kamek said, in amazement himself.

"OMIGOSH DIMENTIO!" Livi shrieked, tackling into the jester as he floated up to the group. Dimentio immediately hit the ground, trying to pry the fangirl's arms from around his neck as he gasped for the air she was cutting off.

Jaydes smiled at the two. "Glad you made it, Dimentio…" She turned to see Mr. L coming slowly towards them, face downcast, and she smiled wider still. "Ah, Mr. L! You came to see your friends off after all."

Mr. L glanced at the others, then looked sheepishly up to Jaydes. "Actually… there's, uh… sumthin' I need to talk to you about…"

Jaydes took on a devious expression, so natural it seemed she never wore a single other emotion. "Mm? What about?"

"About… Dimentio's offer…" He slowly choked out.

"Yes? What do you think?" Jaydes purred.

"I want you to send Dimentio back."

Jaydes and Dimentio's faces both dropped with shock. The other fandoms and fangirl started chattering loudly, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Mr. L simply stood there, glaring defiantly up at the Queen, as if daring her to argue with his decision.

"…Mr. L…" Jaydes finally said as she recovered. "Surely you mean—"

"I mean exactly what I said." Mr. L interrupted, folding his arms over his chest. "I want Dimentio to go back to the Realm of the Living. He's busted his ass for this—I have no right to take it from him."

Jaydes smiled nervously. "But, of course you do…"

"I wouldn't have offered it if you didn't!" Dimentio called, looking frantic.

Mr. L shook his head. "I don't care what he offered. I don't want it. Revenge, I can live with. Anger, hatred, fine with me. But, guilt? I see why he's done this…" Mr. L cast a mournful glance over his shoulder to the jester. "…that's the kind of pain I just don't know how to deal with… I couldn't live with myself if I stole the freedom he deserves…"

"But, you aren't stealing anything…" Jaydes assured him. "Dimentio _wants_ you to have this…"

Dimentio floated up behind Mr. L, grabbing firmly onto his arm. "I told you, L, this never was for me… This whole time I've been doing all I can to get _you_ out… I don't want escape—I want you to be free."

"Ya see?" Mr. L snapped, gesturing wildly to Dimentio. "That right there! That's how he's been treating me for so many years! And what the hell have I done? Jaydes, you said it yourself—the only, _only_ reason I'm stuck down here is because I _can't stop hating him!_ I can't let go of my grudge! I can't forget it! I can't forgive him! Here I've been trying to send him back to the Prison, just to find out that he set out on this crazy journey, dealt with all kindsa shit, went through freaking _hell_—why? To set _me_ free!"

Mr. L's face dropped into his hands. "I can't accept his offer… he deserves freedom so much more than I do… he's been one hell of a friend… even after the way I've treated him… I tried to have him killed—and he _still_ didn't back down…" Mr. L's eyes glanced warily upwards to meet the shocked eyes of the Queen. "…I don't give a damn what you do to me… I'll take his place in the Prison if I have to… I don't want him to suffer anymore…"

Needless to say, Jaydes was stunned. She couldn't think of a single thing worth saying in response to that.

"Mr. L, please…" Dimentio took Mr. L's shoulder, spinning him around to meet his eyes. "You know why I've done this… I want to make things right… I just want to fix everything I've done… how do you expect me to live, knowing I've condemned you to death?"

"You didn't." Mr. L insisted. "This is my choice, not yours. You're the one that's earned this—"

"I earned it for you!" Dimentio begged. "I don't care where I'm sent, I don't care what happens to me, I don't care about anything! Nearly a year ago, I lost my best friend… now I just want to make things right between us…"

Mr. L gave him a look. "Is that all you want?"

Dimentio nodded miserably. "Yes… that's why I've done all this… I need to fix the damage I've done between us…"

"Fine." Mr. L grabbed both Dimentio's shoulders, shaking him just slightly as he looked him dead in the eyes and said firmly, "I forgive you. Go home."

Before anyone could say anything, Luvbi gasped aloud, her eyes going wide. She smacked Jaydes with one of her wings and cried, "Mother! Didst thou hear that?"

"I did indeed, Luvbi…" The Queen put a hand to her forehead, shaking her head as she moaned in despair. "Oh, no… this isn't good… oh, this is just terrible…"

Livi leaned over to Luigi and hissed, "I don't get it—what happened?"

Luigi shrugged. "Who knows? We're not even sure what the hell's going on…"

"Wait…" Mr. L and Dimentio both gave the Queen a funny look as the jester cut in. "Jaydes… what is the matter?"

"Oh dear Grambi…" Jaydes glanced warily over the two trouble-makers. "Mr. L, you said it yourself… I assured you the only thing keeping you in this dimension was your grudge against Dimentio…"

"So?" Mr. L shrugged. "I knew that."

Dimentio smacked him in the stomach, realization striking like a bolt of lightning. "_So…_" he said. "Don't you realize? You just forgave me!"

"Waitaminute…" Mr. L's eyes went wide. "Jaydes… are you saying—"

"You're free." Jaydes moaned, rubbing her temples. "You lived your entire life hypnotized—other than the grudge, you had no sins to weigh. I told you if you would overcome it, I would gladly send you back."

"So… I'm… I'm going back?" Mr. L said, an eager grin spreading across his face. "Are you serious?"

"I'm afraid so…" The Queen heavily sighed.

"But… if Mr. L's earned his own redemption…" Dimentio began to muse. "…then the redemption I earned—"

"Mr. L can no longer accept." Jaydes finished, growing weaker at the thought. "It's yours to keep."

Dimentio's eyes went wide, his face falling to complete and utter shock—and it was _extremely_ difficult to surprise Dimentio. "…pardon? …mine?"

"Yours, Dimentio." Defeated, outwitted, and sick to her stomach, Jaydes sat on the stone steps, holding her head in her hands, already aching with what she knew was coming. "I promised you redemption, you completed the tasks, thus, redemption is yours. You are free from my prison as well."

Mr. L and Dimentio exchanged an eager glance, each catching a familiar light in the other's eyes they hadn't seen in far too long. "…so… we're…"

"Both going back…" Jaydes finished. "Each of you shall, together, be sent back to Castle Bleck, to live your new lives…"

It took roughly five seconds for the full impact of Jaydes' words to hit them. As soon as they did, though, Mr. L and Dimentio each smiled like they'd forgotten they could, threw their arms around each other, and cheered and creamed until neither could speak a single word.

After all heavens, hell, and every world between had driven them apart, after the torture they'd each gone through, and the most bizarre of emotions that had haunted them, they had finally triumphed over fate itself.

Together, at long last, they were going home.


	24. Pushing up Daisies

Somewhere deep within Mushroom Castle, in an old abandoned store room full of old abandoned junk, thin black lines erupted from the ground. They shot out—not in spontaneous direction, but into a familiar shape. The shape of a door. As the lines ceased movement, bright red filled their blankness from the floor up, and a lovely trim of rainbow snaked around the edges and condensed into a star in the center.

As the peculiar door was completed, a click was heard from the opposing side, and the door slowly creaked open. A tentative head poked out to survey the surroundings, and, finding no living soul about, addressed the others behind him.

"I think it's clear…" Luigi said, stepping slowly out of the small door as he opened it wider.

Livi bounded out behind him, glancing to a small window on the far side of the room. "See? You were all worried for nothing! It's only morning just now, and we left at like one! We've only been gone a few hours!"

Luigi leapt up a pile of boxes to peer out the window into Toad Town. He gave a heavy sigh, slowly shaking his head. "The Toads are setting up for the Star Festival tonight… we've been gone four days…"

Livi's face fell to horror. "Oh… that ain't good…"

"Oh, please… as though it even matters…" Dimentio nodded back towards Mr. L, saying, "Don't you think they'd realize _something _happened once we came back with _him _in tow?

"He does have a point…" Luigi said as he clambered down. "How _are _we going to explain Mr. L being back?"

The man in question shrugged carelessly. "Why not just tell 'em what happened?"

Kamek smiled sarcastically. "Oh, yes, brilliant idea! Let's tell them we kidnapped the poor little fangirl and drug her down into the Underwhere! Oh! And while we're at it, let's not forget to mention that we lost her, got her frozen solid in Bonechill's Prison, let her fall off a cliff, nearly got Dimentio executed, started several fights, caused the Prison to cave in on itself, and stole a soul from Jaydes' clutches!"

Mr. L blinked. "…_damn_… busy night, huh?"

"Are you serious?" Livi whined. "How the hell am I not even tired! Four days, no sleep, right? How does that work?"

Dimentio placed a hand on her shoulder. "Time doesn't pass in the Underwhere, darling…"

"Oh…" Livi said. "…I knew that."

"Alright, so are we having that which is a plan or noing?" Fawful inquired, stepping to the center of the group with folded arms and a sneer on his face.

"I guess not…" Luigi moaned. "We'll have to… hide Mr. L, until we can think of something…"

"Are you serious?" Mr. L snapped. "What, like I'm a freakin' Chomp you found on the side of the road?"

"OMIGOD I WANT A PET CHAIN CHOMP!" Livi screamed.

Luigi quickly clapped his hands over her mouth. "Will you shut up? Someone's gonna find us!"

Livi nodded, mumbling something in the affirmative into Luigi's gloves.

"Surely…we can find a way to sort this mess out…" Dimentio began in his soothing, musical tones as he came up behind Mr. L and placed a gloved hand on either of his shoulders. "…for now, at least, we'll sneak up to the fangirl's room, and decide what is to be done there."

Kamek shrugged. "Sounds like that's about all we can do for now…"

"Well, c'mon then…" Luigi said, opening the door to the rest of the castle. "Let's get going before somebody—AHH! DAISY!"

Sure enough, there stood the flower Princess, arms folded, and a devious smirk Jaydes herself would be proud of plastered all over her face. She drummed her fingers on the side of her arm, giving the odd group a thorough look down. With an amused twitch at the corner of her lips, she locked eyes with Livi and declared, "Busted."

"Shit!" Livi snapped. "Look, Daisy, I know you hate me and everything, but can't you cut me a break just this—"

"Sooo…" Daisy interrupted, leaning against the doorframe as she casually examined her nails (which, by the way, she couldn't have seen for the glove she wore over them). "…we had a bit of a fiasco over in Sarasaland… we were bombed by, uh… _Bonsai Bills_… know anything about that, Livi?"

Livi glanced around to her fandoms, silently begging for help, before deciding an appropriate response would be "The Koopalings made me do it!"

Daisy sneered at the fangirl. "Uh-huh, I'm sure…" she sarcastically spat.

Livi glared at her. "Alright, look. I bombed your stupid kingdom, alright? But, for good reason! I wanted you out of my hair to prevent exactly this kind of crap!"

"Oh, really? And how exactly did that work out?" Daisy asked, a mischievous smile lighting up her face.

"WILL YOU STOP TAUNTING ME AND HELP ME OUT FOR ONCE IN YOUR STUPID LIFE?" Livi screeched at the top of her lungs.

Daisy pursed her lips, tapping on her chin with one finger. "Hmm… I dunno… That'd be a _lot _of trouble on my part, and I'm already _so tired _from dealing with the Bill damage… I think I should do the easy thing and just let Peachy know what you've been up to."

Livi's face went livid. "You little—"

Luigi clapped his hands over Livi's mouth as she continued to shriek. "Oh, wow, nice vocabulary you've picked up on, there…"

Livi ignored him, continuing to yell as she simultaneously tried to kick Luigi off and snag a handful of Daisy's hair. Daisy just cocked an eyebrow as she coolly leaned back, not even phased by the sudden outburst. "Look, Daisy…" Luigi said as he struggled to keep Livi quiet. "We've had a really rough night—this is the last thing we need… we'll tell Mario and Peach eventually, but please don't rat us out!"

Daisy said nothing. She just stood there with her arms folded across her chest, staring at Luigi with a rather blank expression.

Luigi groaned. "C'mon, Daisy! If you rat them out, I'll get in trouble too!"

Daisy was unmoved.

Luigi narrowed his eyes at her. "Okay, you suck."

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Mr. L moaned as he approached the flower princess. "Look, girlie, I think all of us have had about enough _shit _for one night. Nobody wants to hear you bitchin', and your shallow little threats ain't scarin' us. So, why don't you just skip your frilly self off somewhere else and leave us the hell _alone_, huh?"

Daisy stared at Mr. L for about as long as she did Luigi. However, her eyes were wide as dinner plates. They slowly looked Mr. L up and down. Once she had a pretty good summary of him, she glanced between the Green Thunder and Luigi over and over for a good five minutes.

Finally, Daisy opened her mouth, sucked in a frightened gasp, shrieked "_PEACH!_" at the top of her lungs, and tore off down the hallway before any of the fandoms could even flinch.

"Mm-mhh!" Livi shrieked struggling against Luigi.

Luigi shakily released the fangirl. "S-sorry, Liv… wha?"

"I SAID DAMMIT!" Livi yelled. "STUPID NO-GOOD FLOWER PRINCESS THINKS SHE'S CAN JUST WALTZ IN HERE AND RUIN MY FREAKING LIFE!"

"Calm down, Livi…" Kamek said as he laid a hesitant hand on Livi's shoulder. "She was just freaked out… we might have been able to reason with her if _someone _hadn't scared the living daylights out of her."

Mr. L narrowed his eyes. "…Are you implying this is _my_ fault?"

Kamek shot him a look. "No, Mr. L. I'm stating the simple fact that this is _entirely _your fault."

"What? Hey, I never even asked to jump on the crazy train!" Mr. L yelled, jabbing a finger at Kamek. "You losers are the ones that came down and shanghaied me into this!"

"Oh, Mr. L, surely you aren't saying you'd rather we'd left you in the Underwhere?" Dimentio said, feigning disappointment. "You'd prefer to stay locked in your bedroom… being enslaved to Jaydes… enduring hour after insufferable hour with her prattling little Luvbi by your si—"

"NO." Mr. L immediately said, eyes widening at the thought. "No thanks. I'm good."

Dimentio quickly found his smile again. "I thought so."

The conversation was quickly interrupted, however. Loud jumps and two sets of clicking heels were soon heard rushing down the hall in the group's direction. Daisy could be heard frantically choking out a stream of babbled nonsense at her two companions—identified at their worried cries as Mario and Peach.

* * *

"Grounded." Fawful said for the fifteenth time in the past twenty seconds. "Grounded! Me! I am being a feared villain of much the grandness! No one has the 'grounding' of me! This is possessing such stupidness!"

"Tell me about it!" Livi agreed, rapidly flipping through TV channels from where she laid on her bed, her other arm locked around Dimentio's neck. "I'm not their kid! They can't tell me what to do!"

Luigi sighed heavily as he took a seat beside Kamek on the floor. "Livi, they're just worried about you—I've told you that. They want you to be careful."

"Who cares about being careful?" Livi demanded, Dimentio emitting a short choking sound as she tightened her grip. "That's what 1-Ups are for!"

Luigi gave her a look. "Have you ever eaten a 1-Up?"

Livi looked away, and promptly flopped back onto the bed. "This sucks."

Mr. L leaned against the window as he glared into Toad Town below. "Tell me about it… Look at what all's goin' on down there… and here we are, shut up in the stupid castle…"

Livi bolted upright—snatching Dimentio with her—and tried to crane her neck to see around Mr. L. "What _is _going on out there?"

"I told you, they're setting up for the Star Festival." Luigi said.

"Wassat?" Livi asked, looking mystified.

"It's a celebration the Toads put on." Kamek explained. "Once every one hundred years, a comet passes overhead, and is visible from Mushroom Kingdom. It is said that it rains down special stardust when the comet passes—the festival is held for the collecting of this dust."

Livi's face scrunched up. She turned to Luigi with a stupefied "Wha?"

"Super Mario Galaxy." Luigi said simply. "The comet is actually Rosalina's Observatory. Now it comes by _every _year to rain Star Bits, as a thank-you for our help in rescuing the Grand Stars."

"Oooooohhhhhh!" Livi said. "OMIGOSH I WANNA GO!" She suddenly started bouncing up and down as she got off on another rant. Dimentio looked to be on the verge of blacking out.

"Livi, don't break Dimentio!" Luigi called.

"Wha—OMIGOSH!" The fangirl practically flung Dimentio off the bed. He landed in a heap on the floor, coughing violently as he gasped for air. "I'm sorry Dimentio please don't die I love you!"

Mr. L was giving Livi the same look he had gotten from Daisy earlier. "…good Grambi, the hell's wrong with this kid?"

Livi ignored the comment. Her attention snapped right back to Luigi. "Weegee, I wanna go to the Star Festival! It looked like so much fun! And I've never eaten a Star Bit before!"

"Well, I'm so sorry." Luigi said, dripping with sarcasm. "What do you expect me to do? I'm just as grounded as you are."

"Why can we not have sneaking of outness?" Fawful suddenly interjected.

A heavy silence hung in the air.

Fawful looked around at his comrades. "Oh, come _on! None _of you had the thinking of that?"

"Pardon us for being preoccupied with our respective fate-loathing." Dimentio said dryly as he rubbed his neck. "Though I must admit, sneaking out is not a bad idea…"

"Hell, are you kidding? It's a great idea! Why haven't we done it already?" Mr. L demanded, storming over to the others.

"Can I come?" Livi whined. "I wanna sneak out too!"

"Hell yeah you're comin'!" Mr. L said, hooking his arms around her waist and slinging her over his shoulder. "C'mon, let's get goin'!"

"And what are we going to do if the others find out?" Kamek asked, though he was clearly also aching to get outside.

"I am possessing the guns in the lair which is mine." Fawful offered.

"You're not freaking shooting anyone!" Livi called, trying to twist around Mr. L's back to see him.

"Who has the saying?" Fawful shot back.

"Says me!" Livi yelled. "Fangirl's in charge!"

Dimentio laughed at that. "Since when are you in charge? Every one of us could kill you in the blink of an eye."

"Well, SO?" Livi demanded. "I'm the fangirl! Don't I win, like, invincibility or something?"

All five fandoms were suddenly laughing so hard they couldn't breathe.

Livi turned about ten shades of scarlet. "WHAT? WHAT'S SO FREAKING FUNNY?"

* * *

Turns out, with Mario, Peach, and Daisy attending the Star Festival themselves, the sneak-out went much smoother than expected. Just a minor distraction to some of the Toads on guard (distraction, here, meaning "Dimentio sending off random explosions down the hall to cause mass chaos and effectively clear the immediate area") and the fandoms and fangirl were soon outside and lost in the festival.

Livi was running about in not-so-sneaky-sneakiness as she chatted with Toads and ran through the streets—dragging Fawful by the hood of his cloak—and gobbling up any star bit that happened to pass her way. Kamek and Luigi were a bit better at playing low-key—they had found a quieter corner of the festival to hide themselves away in and talk quietly as they enjoyed the star bits and the nighttime festivities.

Mr. L noted the locations of the others (or rather, Luigi and Kamek's location, along with the general area Livi appeared to be spazzing in) and set off to find Dimentio. He discovered the jester chatting with a few other foreign creatures that had come to enjoy the festival.

Almost immediately, Dimentio bowed slightly as he bid them adieu, and the moment he had floated away from them, teleported and appeared beside Mr. L.

"Boo." He said, grinning madly.

Mr. L narrowed his eyes. "…funny." He said at last.

Dimentio chuckled. "You had something to ask me?"

Mr. L bit his lip, hating that the jester was constantly analyzing him for thoughts and emotions and constantly getting them right, but deciding nonetheless to let it go this time. "Yeah… do the others know I'm back?"

"Oh, no, of course not." Dimentio waved him off as he picked a star bit off a nearby stand and dusted it off before taking a small bite.

"…what?" Mr. L asked. He had kind of expected as much, but he was still somewhat stunned. "What do you mean no?"

Dimentio shrugged. "Why would they?"

Mr. L stood there a moment in babbling stupidity before he managed to choke out "Didn't you _tell _them?"

"I never had a _chance _to…" Dimentio calmly explained. "Think about it—when did I? Had I warned them before you were informed of my little scheme, Mimi would have never allowed me to go through with it. As soon as we confronted Jaydes on the matter, she sent us straight back home. I haven't spoken with any of them sense."

Mr. L's gaze turned worriedly to the ground. Dimentio smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Oh, what's the matter, L?"

"What are they gonna do when I get back to the Castle?" Mr. L said, quieter this time.

Dimentio shrugged again. "I was going to simply let them be surprised!"

Mr. L said nothing.

"…come on, L, what have you got to be worried about?" Dimentio said softly. "_I'm _the one they all hate, remember? Little Mimi positively adored you, you and O'Chunks had some good times, and you were Nastasia's prized creation… they'll be _thrilled _to see you alive and well again."

A silence hung between the two for a moment.

"I've been… thinking…" Mr. L said, slowly, carefully, as though he were entirely unsure what he was about to say.

"Thinking?" Dimentio repeated. "About what, pray tell?"

"About… what you said…" Mr. L had to pause and gulp nervously before he went on. "…about this being your plan… all along…" The Green Thunder slowly turned to face the jester. "…It does kinda add up, lookin' back…"

Dimentio smiled gently with a soft glow in his eyes. "Does it?" He said innocently.

Mr. L nodded. "Luvbi showed me that spy orb Jaydes has. I may have been locked up in the Underwhere, but I saw everything that happened."

"And what did you see?" Dimentio prompted.

"…you hypnotized Luigi." Mr. L said slowly. "…the Floro Sprout…"

Dimentio laughed lightly.

Mr. L gave him a look. "…he thought… he was me."

Dimentio laughed again. "…Plan A." He finally said. "Hypnotism created you, so I thought for a fleeting moment of insanity the same would draw you back out. When that didn't work, I had to switch plans. I would use the Chaos Heart to open the Underwhere and—hopefully—find you down there."

Mr. L's lip twitched into a shy kind of smile. "…really?"

Dimentio nodded. "Many things I am, Mr. L, but a liar, I am not."

Mr. L's face fell at that one. "…yeah… ya are."

Dimentio laughed. "Ah ha ha ha! True, of course, I cannot deny… But, I've never once lied to you."

Mr. L looked a little ticked off at that. "Yeah." He said, firmer. "You have."

"Oh?" Dimentio asked, pretending to be rather surprised. "About what?"

"You said I was your best friend." Mr. L barked.

"You are my best friend." Dimentio said casually, examining a new star bit carefully before taking a bite. "I don't have many."

Mr. L's hands unconsciously clenched into tight fists. "You said you'd protect me. Instead, you murdered me."

"You wanted me to leave you to face the void—the entire castle was falling apart, L. O'Chunks, Mimi, and even myself hardly made it out." Dimentio stated. "And you wanted to stay in the crumbling castle to fight off the much-strong-than-all-of-us heroes and outrun the Void?" The jester shook his head. "You were safer in the Underwhere."

Mr. L made a face, trying to ignore the underlying insults in the argument. "…Dimentio… the thing is… I trusted you. And you betrayed me—"

"How so?" Dimentio interrupted.

Mr. L stiffened up. He had to fight to keep his voice level. "You're the reason I died."

Dimentio shook his head and smiled brightly. "I'm the reason you're _alive_."

Mr. L crossed his arms over his chest. "I could've gotten myself out."

"But, you _wouldn't _have, if not for me." Dimentio stated.

Mr. L narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "…how do you know?"

Dimentio winked. "You would've done it already. Don't you think?"

Mr. L continued glaring at him for a few more moments, then sighed heavily and allowed himself to relax. "…I always wondered if you're half as confident as ya look… ya always look like you just _know _you're right…"

Dimentio gave him a slight little smile and handed him a star bit. "…I'm not ever confident…" he after a bit. "…just optimistic, insane… and extremely lucky…"


	25. Thanks for Nothing

Mr. L could never remember being so terrified to see Castle Bleck.

It was safety, a place of refuge, a shelter. He belonged there, and he was happy to be there.

And now, as Peach's plane ripped through the dimensional fabric and glided through the dark, stormy sky to the floating castle, Mr. L was getting knots in his stomach.

The castle never scared him. The people inside did.

Dimentio _said _Mimi adored him, but he had always picked on her. What if she had been glad to see him go? What if she hated him now?

He and O'Chunks had some good times? Occasionally. They had usually wound up fighting. Violently. And Mr. L had usually would up seriously hurt.

What about Nastasia? Her prized creation? He'd been gone nearly a year. She couldn't still hold him at such high value. All he was to her now is another obnoxious nuisance she can't quite seem to get rid of.

Mr. L jumped violently from his place by the window as he felt an icy hand touch his shoulder. "Jeez, freak-show, gimme a heart attack why don'cha?"

Dimentio smiled warily. "Ah, my sincerest apologies. I only wondered what had so captivated your attention."

Mr. L sighed, turning back to the window. "…I'm scared… They're not gonna want me back… then where the hell am I gonna go?"

"Nonsense!" Dimentio exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Mr. L's shoulders. "I told you—they'll all be thrilled to see you…"

Mr. L's forehead pressed gloomily to the window as he continued to stare at the castle.

Dimentio frowned. "Oh, L, don't worry so… I assure you, everything will be just fine… I'll find a way to make it so… I've gotten you this far, haven't I?"

Mr. L sighed again. "I guess so…" he mumbled.

Dimentio gave his shoulders a squeeze, then whispered in his ear "I just got you back… I won't let them take you away…"

The jester pulled back before Mr. L could reply. Mr. L heard him talking to the others, but couldn't make out the conversation for Livi whining that she didn't want to see either of them go.

Dimentio never saw Mr. L's lips twitch into a heartbroken smile.

* * *

"Oh, good… you're, uh, back." Nastasia said dryly as everyone stepped off the plane.

Dimentio smiled ecstatically and threw his arms around the secretary. "Wonderful to see you, as well, Nastasia!"

"Get. The hell. Off. Of me." Nastasia seethed, going absolutely rigid in his arms.

"Oh, come now, Nasty, you had to have missed me…" Dimentio pouted as he pulled back to hold her at arm's length.

Nastasia brushed his hands off of her shoulders, glaring up at him. "Yeah, uh, not in the slightest."

"DIMMY!" Dimentio turned at the familiar nickname and caught Mimi tight in his arms just as she leapt from the ground and tackled into him. "OMIGRAMBI DIMENITO I MISSED YOU SO FREAKING MUCH DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN NASSY SAID YOU WEREN'T EVEN GONNA COME HOME AND IF YOU LEFT WITHOUT LETTING ME SAY GOOD-BYE I'D HUNT YOU DOWN AND KILL YOU AND THEN I'D NEVER SPEAK TO YOU AGAIN YOU BIG FREAKING DUMMY!"

Dimentio laughed musically and gave Mimi a tight hug. "Well, now, that's quite a welcome…"

Mimi buried her face in Dimentio's poncho and squeezed tight around his neck. "Didja miss me, Dimmy?"

Dimentio sighed and gently returned the embrace. "Like a fish misses the open sea…"

"Good!" Mimi chirped. "I missed ya too… like… uh… a dress misses… the matching shoes?"

Dimentio laughed, pulling back to ruffle her pigtails around as he set her back on the ground. "Not quite—but nice try, my dear. Keep at it."

Mimi beamed at the compliment, then shrieked Livi's name and scurried off to pounce on the Fangirl. Dimentio watched her go, then turned back to the plane. He caught Mr. L peeking warily out from the door, still hesitant to come forward. Dimentio motioned for him to hide—which Mr. L was obviously happy to do, because he disappeared in two seconds flat.

With a wide smile, Dimentio snapped his fingers, emitting a few colored sparks, and called for the others. "Attention, fellow former minions of Bleck! I come bearing a surprise gift for you all!"

"Oh goodie, I love surprises!" Mimi screamed, at the jester's side in a heartbeat.

Nastasia grabbed the back of the child's dress and gently pulled her away from Dimentio. "…what kind of surprise? I can't recall you ever giving a _good _one."

Dimentio flashed the secretary a devious smirk. "Oh, Nastasia—have you no faith in me?"

"Oi, ah canno' think of any reason we _should_." O'Chunks chimed in. "What're yeh up to, eh, Dimentio?"

Dimentio felt his eye twitch slightly. "_Thank you_, ever so much, for that entirely worthless and uncalled-for comment, Chunk-for-brains. I'll have you know, that in order to—how do you say—make amends with dear Nastasia, I've brought this charming gift for her."

"I don't want it." The secretary said immediately.

Dimentio snarled at her. "You don't even know what it is."

"I know it's from you. Therefore, I don't want it." Nastasia said dryly.

"Can I have it?" Mimi whined.

"Uh, knowing Dimentio, you're not going to, uh, want it anyway—'k?" Nastasia gently told the child. Mimi only crossed her arms over a chest in a huff.

"Well, too bad, because you're all getting it anyway. Now, close your eyes." Dimentio instructed, floating back towards Peach's plane.

Mimi slapped her hands right over her eyes and was immediately bouncing with excitement. Nastasia and O'Chunks exchanged a very apprehensive, almost worried glance, then reluctantly covered their eyes as well.

Dimentio beamed in success, then snapped his fingers and teleported Mr. L to his side, slapping a gloved hand over the man's mouth to muffle his cry of surprise. Motioning for him to be silent, Dimentio dragged Mr. L over and stood him just in front of the other three minions. Holding him firmly by the shoulders (already well-aware Mr. L would want to run) Dimentio cheerily exclaimed "Alright, open your eyes!"

Slowly, all three pairs of eyes were uncovered.

A deafening silence echoed throughout the dimension.

"_OHMYFREAKINGRAMBIITSMR.L!_" Mimi's shriek shattered the silence as a wrecking ball would shatter a glass house. As soon as her nerves unscrambled themselves from their state of shock and reconnected her mind to her feet, she had launched herself out of Nastasia's reach, across the short span of ground between them, and right into Mr. L's chest, arms flung tightly around him. "_OMIGRAMBI I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE BACK! DIMMY SAID YOU WERE DEAD! HOW'D YOU GET BACK? WHERE WERE YOU! OMIGRAMI I MISSED YOU!_"

Mr. L seemed to be having trouble processing what was happening. Finally, as his lips slowly twitched into a hesitant smile, he slowly wrapped his arms around the small child and said quietly "Damn, I missed ya too, Mims…"

Mimi squeezed him tighter. "Golly, it's been so different without you! Nobody calls me Mims anymore! Or tugs on my pigtails and says 'sup squirt?'! Or makes a robot for me that kills nasty bugs in my closet! Or lets me tattle on Dimentio then winks at me and says 'want me to go beat 'im up for ya?'! Golly, I missed you!"

Mr. L just hugged her tighter. "Yeah, yeah, I know, Mims… I missed ya too… Ya know, I tried to replace you…"

Mimi pulled back in shock. "You _did_?"

Mr. L nodded. "Yeah… closest thing I could find to an obnoxious, whiney, rambling, self-absorbed, brat was Luvbi though…" The Green Thunder smiled as he shook his head. "She just wasn't as cool as you…"

Mimi beamed and hugged him again. "You are, like, the totally best _ever!_"

Dimentio turned from the scene at a tap on his shoulder. "Yes, Nasty?" the jester asked, grinning madly.

Nastasia pointed a shaking finger towards Mr. L. "That's… not… that can't be… him…"

"Oh, but it is…" Dimentio jerked his head towards the others. "See? Luigi's right over there… That's the real, true, pure, absolute Mr. L… He's ours to keep now…"

"Harble Deh…" O'Chunks breathed, scratching his head. "How'd yeh do it?"

Dimentio shrugged. "I suppose he's been down there waiting on us. I just had to go and fetch him."

Nastasia turned to him with her eyes wide in shock. "_How_? How did you get him?"

Dimentio only smiled at her. "He's my friend. I was willing to do anything to get him back."

Nastasia seemed rather taken aback by the comment—she flinched slightly as he said it, as though she had somehow taken a physical blow. She shook it off, blinking her eyes a few times before she rasped out "Thank you."

Dimentio blinked, his expression falling to confusion and shock. "…pardon?" he said after a moment.

"Uh… thanks…" Nastasia mumbled. She tried to have said it quieter, but Dimentio caught it anyway. He smiled warmly and nodded his head slightly to the secretary.

To his utmost surprise, she gave him a simple, hesitant, bashful smile in return. She nodded to the jester, then went with O'Chunks to give Mr. L a proper greeting and a well-deserved break from the onslaught of Mimi.

Dimentio beamed proudly at the fruits of his labors, then turned to the other fandoms and fangirl. He hesitantly floated up to Luigi. "Ah, Luigi…" he began, his voice quiet. "I know I could… _never _even think to beg you for forgiveness… but, I—"

Luigi held up a hand to cut the jester off. "No." He said firmly. "I'm sorry, Dimentio. I can't just forgive you for everything that happened. You know that."

Dimentio bowed his head. "Of course, Luigi…"

Luigi's expression softened slightly. "…then again… if Mr. L, of all people, can find a way to forgive you… I can at least forget what happened and move on…"

Dimentio's eyes lit up and flew to meet Luigi's. Before he could say anything, however, Luigi raised the same hand—in peace offering, this time—and quietly asked, "…what do you say? Can we just… start over?"

Dimentio smiled wildly, took Luigi's hand in his, and bowed before the man. "I would be honored, dearest Luigi…"

"DIMENTIO!" Livi barked, marching up to the two of them. "What the hell's wrong with you? Stop being so sappy! It's dis_gust_ingly out of character! Go say something witty and sarcastic! …or something!"

Dimentio smiled fondly, and wrapped the Fangirl in a tight hug. "I must say—though I never thought I would… I am going to sincerely miss you, my dear…"

Livi blushed crimson, and hugged Dimentio back. "Oh, uh, okay—this works too."

Dimentio laughed and pulled back to look Livi in the face and whisper to her quietly. "I must thank you for all you've done… For _everyone _here at Castle Bleck… we are truly in your debt…"

Livi smirked. "Well, normally, I'd argue and point out that I did nothing but screw everything up—but what Fangirl can say no to a personal Dimentio slave?"

Dimentio smacked the back of her head. "In your dreams…"

Livi laughed as she smoothed her hair into place. "Oh, and don't worry—you defiantly won't be missing me long! Now that you and Mr. L are back, I'll have to come visit all the time!"

"Oh, and aren't we all just freaking _thrilled!_" Mr. L called as he walked over, Mimi sitting on his shoulders and wrapped around his head.

Livi hugged Mr. L around the waist. "Awww, I love you too, Mr. L!"

"Yeah, whatever…" Mr. L pushed her off, then tussled her hair around. "Gonna miss ya, kid… Don't let clown-face over here scare ya off if ya do wanna come back…"

Livi smiled and nodded. "Of course not."

Dimentio bowed slightly to the girl, smiling broadly. "And, again, thank you… Though glad we are to see you off, we'll be awaiting your return."

Livi clapped and squealed in delight. "Awesome!" She then clasped her hands together and pouted at Dimentio. "…just… one more simile? …to see me off?"

Dimentio sighed. "They're not really an 'on-demand' thing…"

"Pleeeaaase?" Livi whined.

Dimentio rolled his eyes skyward and sighed again. "Fine… as a suicidal psychopath bids his woeful life, I now must bid you Ciao."

Livi made a face at him. "What? Are you comparing me to a 'woeful life'? What did I do?"

Dimentio waved her off and floated away. "Ah! No! I've said Ciao—and that is my final word on any matter!"

"Gosh, you freakin' _suck_, ya know that?" Livi yelled, running back to the others. "Weegee, Dimentio's pickin' on me—make him stop!"

Luigi rolled his eyes. "Why don't you go glomp him to death?"

Fawful's eyes went wide at that. "Oh, have holding of the ons! The Fangirl of stupidness was _never _'glomping' the Thunder of Green!"

Kamek raised an eyebrow. "You didn't?" He asked Livi. "You glomped all of us before we'd even met."

Livi blinked. "No way…" She smiled and waved them off. "I know, I know—it's cause down in the Underwhere we were all in crisis mode."

Luigi and Kamek exchanged a look before the Magikoopa bluntly informed her "Livi, we've been back three days."

Livi's face scrunched up as her eyes flashed over the ground—as if she believed she would find the answer written somewhere below her feet. "Mimi, get off Mr. L."

Mimi chirped "Okie-day!" and hopped off his shoulders to scurry over to Dimentio.

"What?" Mr. L asked, looking around at everyone like they were the biggest idiots he had ever met (which was probably not very far off-base). "What the hell are you losers talking about?"

"Oh, nothing." Dimentio grinned, scooping Mimi into his arms. "Just stay right there for two seconds."

Mr. L gave him a look. "Why, what's go—"

Before the Green Thunder could choke out his next word, a very spazzy and very screamy Fangirl had launched herself from her previous position, hit Mr. L square in the chest, and knocked them both to the ground in a heap several feet away. "THE FREAKING HELL WAS THAT?" Mr. L screamed, trying in vain to squirm his way out of Livi's arms. "GET THE FREAKIN PSYCHO OFF OF ME!"

The other four fandoms only laughed—they knew well his misfortune, and however they all dreaded that fate be their own, it was strangely hilarious to witness it on another.


	26. See You Losers Later

_Last Chapter! Oh my Grambi I think I'm going to cry! Hope you all enjoyed my first fanfiction. If you liked it, be sure to look out for **Obsessive Fangirl 2**! Thanks for everything guys!_

* * *

"Uh… King Bowser, sir?"

The Koopa in question turned his attention from Kammy and the troop of guards she was bickering with to the Paratroopa that now stood before him. He cocked an eyebrow at him. "What is it?"

The Paratroopa gulped nervously, then stammered out "There's, uh… a group of… erm… _guests_… that wish to see you…"

Bowser sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead with one hand as he motioned with the other. "Alright, alright…" He growled in his gruff voice. "Send them in…"

The Paratroopa bowed slightly, mumbled something in the affirmative, then scampered quickly out of the throne room. Within moments, the large steel doors were flung open by the Koopatrols on guard and Princess Peach along with her merry band of morons dashed inside.

"Good afternoon, Bowser." Peach said lightly with a gentle curtsy. "I hope we're not interrupting anything."

Bowser beamed at the pleasant surprise and waved off the idea. "Not at all—what are you all doing back here?"

"I'm so sorry, sir…" Kammy said as she approached Bowser. "I was busy dealing with these _idiots _you call guards—" she turned and barked the last phrase to the troop before regaining her composure and returning her attention to the King. "—A letter arrived this morning saying that the Princess would be coming to drop off Kamek."

Peach nodded, grabbing Kamek by the sleeve of his robes to pull him to the front of the group. "Of course! And here he is, safe, sound, and—amazingly enough—still in one piece! Just as I promised!"

Bowser laughed at that. "I wasn't worried—Kamek can take care of himself." Turning his attention to the Magikoopa, he asked, "So what have you been up to all this time?"

Kamek sighed heavily. "You wouldn't believe me if I could tell you, sir…"

Bowser laughed. "That bad, huh?"

Kamek turned and smiled to the others. "…not as bad as I thought it would be…"

"Well, glad you're not dead, at least. If I was stuck with Kammy my whole life, I'd bring you back so I could kill you myself." Bowser laughed, grinning to show his mouthful of fangs.

Kamek bowed slightly, smiling. "Of course, sir. I wouldn't blame you."

Kammy hmphed indignantly, to which Kamek childishly crossed his eyes at her—a gesture she was surprisingly quick to return.

"Alright, go ahead and say your good-byes." Bowser commanded, waving Kamek off. "You've got a lot of catching up to do—the mess Kammy's made of things."

Kamek bowed again, laughing as he turned back to the others. "I expected as much…"

As Peach captured Bowser's attention, filling him in on the events of the past few weeks—being careful not to mention the Underwhere or the odd group's adventures there—Kamek went to bid his comrades a fond farewell.

Livi pounced on the Magikoopa first, flinging her arms tightly around him. "Gosh, I'm gonna miss ya, Kamek!"

Kamek hugged her gently back. "Don't worry, Livi, I'll miss you too…"

"And I don't care what Bowser says!" Livi said as she pulled back. "Next time I'm back, you're coming to visit! Even if I have to come kidnap you or something!"

Kamek laughed, scratching the top of her head. "Right. Because you could totally kidnap me."

"I totally could!" Livi snapped.

Kamek smirked. "If you say so…"

Having already said goodbye to Fawful, who wisely stayed on the plane during this visit, Kamek turned next to Luigi. Luigi smiled shyly at the Magikoopa. "So…" he said in a very low voice. "…friends?"

Kamek smiled and slightly nodded his head. "Friends…" he agreed.

Luigi's smile widened, and he immediately hugged Kamek. "I'm gonna miss you…"

"I'll miss you too…" Kamek said as he returned the embrace. "I have private Paratroopas… we could write if you like?"

Luigi nodded eagerly as he pulled back. "I would like that. I'll see ya…"

Kamek bowed his head as he turned away. "Be seeing you…"

The others all bid Bowser a thank-you and farewell, then were quickly shown out of the castle by the guards that had shown them in. As Kamek took his usual place beside Bowser, he noticed the pink plane fly by the throne room windows before disappearing into the distant sky.

Kamek smiled sadly, already missing the strange life he had just lead and the life-long enemies he now called friends. However gifted and experienced in the magical arts, he could never have foreseen such a turnaround in his life.

The Magikoopa was jarred from his thoughts as a large, firm hand clapped him on the back. He glanced up and saw Bowser glance his way and flash him a friendly smile. "Glad to have ya back…" he said under his breath.

Kamek smiled and nodded to the great Koopa. "Glad to be back, sir…"

* * *

Much later that evening, just as the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, Livi, Luigi, and Fawful sat outside in the lush grass of the Castle Gardens, talking quietly amongst themselves.

"…and I don't see any reason why it should be a problem." Livi was saying. "Fawful, you keep down in your lair, and don't raid the castle or stir up any trouble or… anything… like that… And Weegee, you guys just pretend you don't even know he's there—and no one will even notice."

Luigi eyed Fawful warily, then sighed. "Well, I guess if he's been living down there this long, there's not much we can do about it."

"And, I had assisting in rescuing the Fangirl of Stupidness." Fawful smugly pointed out.

Luigi made a face at him. "…what, and now I _owe _you?"

Fawful narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Oh have shutting of the upness…"

Livi waved them both off. "Alright, alright, no fighting! I want you two to play nice while I'm gone, okay?"

Luigi and Fawful glared at each other for a few more moments. At last, Luigi shrugged, said "Fine." and offered his hand to Fawful.

Fawful looked at the hero's hand like it was made out of live snakes. He stuck his nose in the air and turned away. "I do not make that which is deals with _Fink-rats _like the one who is you."

Luigi sighed. "Look, I know you don't like me, okay? Believe me, the feeling is mutual. But I'm not asking you to team up with the heroes to save the world. All I'm saying is that if you'll leave me alone, me and all my friends will totally ignore you. Okay?"

Fawful slowly opened his eyes and turned back to Luigi. He eyed him very suspiciously, then reached out and shook his hand with a slightly bitter "I say to you, fine."

Luigi smirked. "Good." He then turned back to Livi. "Is that enough for you?"

Livi smiled and nodded her head. "Yup! Just wanted to make sure all my little buddies are gonna be safe and sound when I get back!" As she spoke, the Fangirl shoved herself off the ground and dusted off her pants.

Luigi followed suit and looked up to the darkening sky. "It's getting kind of late… you ready to shove off?"

Livi pouted. "…I guess so… I never really wanna _leave_…"

Luigi smiled and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "You'll be back soon, if I know you at all."

Livi flung her arms around his waist. "You do. I'll be back and bothering you before ya know it."

"Ya know, its funny…" Luigi laughed. "When you're here, I want you to leave… but as soon as you're gone, I want you back…"

Livi laughed, pulling back from him to pat him on top of his cap. "I get that a lot…"

The Fangirl then turned to a very shy-looking Fawful who was now standing at her feet. She smiled sweetly. "Are you gonna miss me, Fawful?"

Much to her surprise, Fawful slowly nodded his head.

Livi's smile widened in stunned delight. "Aww, Fawful!" She knelt back to the ground and wrapped him in a hug. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon! Then we can go on all kinds of crazy adventures all over again!"

"Try not to be having the over of games…" Fawful joked, punching her arm lightly as he pulled back from her.

Livi raised her hand to her forehead and gave him a small salute. "Sir, yes, sir…" She chirped. She wrapped him in one last hug and whispered "I'm gonna miss you, Fawful…"

Fawful slowly wrapped his arms around her neck. "…I will have missing of you, as well…"

Livi gave him one last squeeze, then pulled back and stood up again. She sighed and looked fondly all around her. "I'm really gonna miss this place… can't wait to get back…"

Luigi smiled and nodded to her. "We'll be here, just waiting for you."

Livi smirked. "I know." That being said, she turned and strode off to the lone green warp pipe sticking out of the ground. With a small grunt of strain, Livi hoisted herself up to the top of the pipe, swung her legs over so they dangled inside, and cast one last glance over her shoulder. "Guess I'll see you losers later, huh?"

Luigi bowed his head slightly. "If we must."

Livi laughed. Then, she blinked her eyes several times, like she was trying not to cry. She looked Luigi in the eye and softly said, "…thanks, Weegee… for, like… everything…"

Luigi shook his head. "Don't mention it…" he quietly returned.

Livi smiled wider, then turned her back to the two of them. She shakily took in a deep breath, closed her eyes, then slid herself down into the pipe.

Luigi and Fawful watched her go, then as her echoing shrieks finally faded away, the two realized the fangirl was gone at last.

Luigi sighed heavily as he slowly turned back to the castle. "Well… enjoy the peace while it lasts… she won't be gone long—so don't worry too much about missing her…"

Fawful sneered as he followed the hero back to the castle. "Feh! Why should I have the caring?" He scoffed at Luigi. "She is nothing more than a stupid Fangirl of idiotic spazziness!"

Luigi smiled at him. "True… but I kind of thought you were starting to like her."

Fawful gaped at him. "…be _liking _that idiot of foolishness? Asing _if!_ I am possessing such _gladness _and the _relief _that she is being gone!"

Luigi laughed. "Aren't we all…"

She'd brought them all together, knocked down the barriers that had divided them, and for the most part, built up a connection and in some cases even a friendship between each of the. She'd lead them on a fantastic adventure, where they'd all betrayed and embraced each other. She may have taken them from their homes, but in a way, she gave them each a new one.

But, maybe what brought all five fandoms together was the one thing—if anything—they all had in common.

They all hated that damn Fangirl.

**THE END**


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